NORTHUMBERLAND County Council’s public health boss is stepping down after more than six years at the local authority.

Liz Morgan has spent the last three years as director of public health at the council and helped steer the county through the coronavirus pandemic, but will leave at the end of next month.

Tributes were paid to Ms Morgan at a meeting of the council’s health and wellbeing board – Ms Morgan’s last in her role – and she was surprised with a bouquet of flowers and a round of applause from the entire board.

Cllr Wendy Pattison, cabinet member for adult wellbeing, added: "I don’t want to embarrass you Liz, but I would just like to say, as portfolio holder for public health, you got us beautifully through Covid."

The council has confirmed that the post has already been advertisted, and a new director of public health will be appointed through the Faculty of Public Health approved process in the New Year.