THE new mayor of Welwyn Hatfield has spoken publicly for the first time about the reasons behind her choice of charities for the year. Kim Langley was appointed the borough's first female mayor last week, and said then the Willow Foundation and the Welwyn

THE new mayor of Welwyn Hatfield has spoken publicly for the first time about the reasons behind her choice of charities for the year.

Kim Langley was appointed the borough's first female mayor last week, and said then the Willow Foundation and the Welwyn Hatfield Women's Refuge were both charities "close to my heart".

At a press conference, published in today's WHT, she explained why.

She said: "I have suffered from domestic violence. It makes you feel like a nobody."

She also chose Willow as it reminded her of the time she cared for her daughter, who was seriously ill when young.

Read more in this week's WHT, out now.