A Letchworth community group is celebrating after the arrival of its youngest new member, who has been dubbed ‘mascot’ of its youth council as it gets ready to welcome 10 new co-ordinators.

Wilbury Community Forum crafts co-ordinator Sarah Royston gave birth to little Alfie the day after last month’s Wilbury Community Café, which was held as usual at Wilbury Hall behind St Thomas’ Church.

And Immy Blackburn-Horgan, who is stepping down as co-ordinator of the forum youth council at the next café on Saturday, says that baby Alfie symbolises the strength of the neighbourhood’s community spirit.

She said: “I’m stepping down as co-ordinator as I leave St Francis’ College to start my adult life.

“This is a role I established and started in 2013, after the Comet ran a story about levels of poverty for families and oldies in Wilbury Ward.

“My school has an ethos of ‘One Heart One Soul’, where we look after and care for one another – something the 10 new young people recruited to be the new generation of joint co-ordinators are committed to.

“They are so excited to organise and run their own activities for families living in our neighbourhood.

“We had an official presentation on March 18 where they were given book bags and official WCF badges from Sarah Royston, who gave birth to baby Alfie the next day.

“Alfie is just so cute and we had thought about having a mascot to energise us and our community spirit. Once we saw him, we thought who better to generate excitement and gain attention than a beautiful bouncing baby boy.

“He is a symbol of our neighbourhoods support to each other and provides a symbol of pride showing everyone how strong our community is.”

Proud mum Sarah said: “Immy and the Wilbury Youth Council are a real inspiration, and it’s great to see 10 new volunteers taking on the role of joint co-ordinators.

“When Immy suggested Alfie could be a mascot I thought that was a lovely idea. The kindness and support from the Wilbury community both before and after his birth has been fantastic.

“Alfie will be at the next Wilbury Community Café on April 22, showing that our community really is for all ages!”

The Wilbury Community Café starts at 10.45am and goes on until 12.30pm. To find out more look for ‘Wilbury Community Café’ on Facebook, or see facebook.com/events/752883538212438.