Experienced chartered accountant and Oakham resident John Stables has been appointed a new non-executive director at Leicestershire-based law firm Lawson-West Solicitors.

Mr Stables will join the company on 3 September, replacing Paul Bonnett.

Having qualified at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mr Stables is former financial director of both Smith & Williamson's Tax and Business Services Division and Solomon Hare LLP in Bristol.

He was also chief finance officer of Openfield Group Limited, the largest farmer-owned grain marketing mutual in the UK, until 2016 and since 2017 has been a non-executive director and nominations committee member of The Earl Shilton Building Society as well as chair of the audit committee.

In 2019, Mr Stables joined the Royal Agricultural University as an independent governor, where he is chair of the finance and estates committee.

Lawson-West managing director David Heys said: "I am so pleased and delighted to be welcoming John Stables to our board as a non-executive director.

"His depth of finance exertise and 30 years' business experience bring a solid foundation to develop our practice in the years ahead.

"His brief is to help us to continue to grow the firm an he believes the way to do it is to provide terrific value through excellent service.

"That is what we are all about, and I am looking forward to working with him."

Mr Stables added: "Lawson-West has a great reputation as a go-ahead firm, committed to client service and I'm looking forward to helping them grow further."

He joins Lawson-West's main board of directors alongside managing director David Heys, Ashley Hunt, Vicky Jones and James Haworth.