Would-be Robin Hoods beware – a former regional daily journalist has been elected as the new Sheriff of Nottingham.

But Nottingham Post staffer turned local councillor Catharine Arnold will not be pursuing any latter-day outlaws any time soon.

In modern times, the Sheriff’s main role is to promote Nottingham as a tourist destination and to encourage people in the city to take part in local cultural and leisure activities.

Catharine, pictured, has served as a Labour member of Nottingham City Council since 2007, and was elected to her new role at the authority’s annual meeting last week.

Catharine spent four years at the Post as a sub-editor and feature writer, leaving the newspaper after her daughter Rose was born.

She also worked as a sub-editor for Readers Digest and has written a number of books,  including Pandemic 1918, a study of the Spanish flu pandemic of that year.

Said Catharine: “As a local woman and a historian, I am incredibly excited to be taking on the role of Sheriff of Nottingham.

“This is a role rich in history and anecdote, and I have a responsibility to live up to all the other sheriffs who have gone before me. I just hope I can do it justice.”