A TEENAGER who hopes to become Prime Minister has become a council’s youngest member at the age of 18.

James Culley has joined the ranks of Messing-cum- Inworth Parish Council – and is 38 years younger than the next youngest councillor.

He hopes this entry into politics will catapult him from the corridors of school to the corridors of power as he hopes one day he may become Prime Minister.

James, who previously went to Thurstable School, in Tiptree, first got involved with the parish council when youngsters in the village wanted more sports facilities.

He said: “I said I would represent them and I got speaking to the parish council.

“I went to a few meetings and helped to get goalposts set up on the village green.”

James said was not deterred by the sometimes dry nature of parish council meetings.

He said: “I enjoyed working with the parish council and I wanted to join them. There is a lot of bureaucracy and jargon, but I liked the meetings and wanted to join.”

James, of School Road, Messing, was co-opted to the council to fill a long-standing vacancy and is its youngest ever councillor.

However, he will have to have a long distance relationship with the council as he is about to start a degree in business and management at Reading University.

James said: “Most of the correspondence we do is on email and we communicate quite a lot about village matters that way.

“It seems as though we meet for a couple of hours a month and have a cup of coffee and chat, but there is a lot of work done behind the scenes.

“I would like to have a career in politics and would like to be Prime Minister one day and this is a good way to start. I am happy to start at the bottom.”

Messing might be an appropriate place to start.

It is the birthplace of Reynard Bush, the son of a yeoman farmer, who emigrated to America in 1631. He is the forefather of two American presidents, George and George W Bush.