FINANCE student Donald Crawford has been announced as the Melrosian Elect for 2015.

The 22-year-old is the popular choice to lead his town in June.

And he won’t have far to look for guidance as his father, Michael, was also Melrosian back in 1984.

Donald told the Border Telegraph: “Becoming Melrosian is one of those things that we all wanted to be when we were boys.

“It’s even more of an honour to follow on from my dad as he was Melrosian when he was younger.

“I will be concentrating on work up until Election Night, but I know it’s going to be full on from there.” Donald, who is a talented tennis player and currently breaking through into the first team rugby squad at the Greenyards, is in his third year of Finance and Investment management at Northumbria University.

He is currently serving an internship with multi-national firm Procter and Gamble.

Although Donald was once crowned Youngest Rider at the Melrose Festival in the late 1990s - he’s not been on a horse for more than a decade.

He added: “I stopped riding when I was about nine or ten - I’ll need to get back into the saddle and start learning again.” Over 100 Festival supporters packed into the Greenyards on Saturday for the annual Ex-Melrosians Burns Supper and Melrosian Elect announcement.

Amongst them were Donald’s parents, Michael and Debbie.

Chairman Max Robbie introduced the many guests and entertainers.

The Immortal Memory was presented by Scott Renwick, while Fraser Anderson proposed the Toast to Lasses, and Jenny Linehan delivered a fitting Reply.

Toast to Town and Trade was proposed by Liz McIntyre while local MP Michael Moore delivered the Reply.

Keith Cowan performed Tam o’ Shanter, Michael Crawford did the Address to Haggis and Graeme Crawford proposed the Vote of Thanks. Donald Swanson provided the piping entertainment.