A FORMER accountant and Territorial Army officer has been installed as the new High Sheriff of Gwent.

Murray MacFarlane was born and raised in Wales before moving to London to become an accountant and working his way up the ranks to become a consulting partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

At the same time he served as a Second Lieutenant in the Territorial Army branch of the Royal Artillery.

Now retired he has taken on the historic role of the High Sheriff of Gwent – a position that dates back locally to 1540.

The installation ceremony was held at Bridges Centre at Drybridge House in Monmouth.

Mr MacFarlane is chairman of the independent charity that runs the centre.

Lady Diana Hayman-Joyce, who was herself High Sheriff of Gwent in 2011/2012, officiated at the ceremony in the presence of Simon Boyle, The Lord Lieutenant of Gwent and more than 100 guests.

Mr MacFarlane, after accepting the oath of office, was sworn in to take over the now largely ceremonial position from Elizabeth Murray.

"It is a great honour and privilege to have this position and to follow in the footsteps of Elizabeth Murray. She is a very tough act to follow," he said.

Rev Canon Simon Guest was appointed as the High Sheriff's chaplain and David Bowen, a Newport-based solicitor, was sworn in as Gwent's Under Sheriff.

In modern times, the role of High Sheriff is particularly associated with the funding of good causes.

Mr MacFarlane said that he wanted to help the Youth Offending Service as he was a volunteer panel member.

"I've been involved with youth offenders in recent years and I have seen hundreds of young people who've faced different problems and challenges. If these problems are not addressed they can become a problem for society in the future.

"The best way forward is continuing action by volunteers who go into towns to target particular problems.

"The High Sheriff's Community fund raises money for struggling groups and contributes to these schemes and consequently I shall be making the Youth Offending Service teams one of my priorities during my year in office."

Mr MacFarlane added that the fund has helped the unemployed and other disadvantaged young people and he was keen to continue these initiatives.