DUP's Paula Bradley co-opted as Antrim and Newtownabbey councillor

DUP deputy leader Paula Bradley has been co-opted as a councillor, months after she said she would not seek re-election to Stormont.

In March, Ms Bradley said she was stepping down from the assembly for family reasons.

She had been a DUP assembly member for North Belfast for more than a decade.

The party has confirmed she has taken the Antrim and Newtownabbey council seat held by Philip Brett, who replaced Ms Bradley at Stormont.

In a statement on Tuesday, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he was "delighted" she would continue as a public representative.

Ms Bradley said stepping back from the assembly was "one of the most difficult decisions" she had made but was "looking forward" to her new role.

She became deputy leader last year and is seen as being on the more liberal wing of the DUP.

She joined the party in 1998 and was first elected as a councillor in Newtownabbey in 2005 and later as an MLA in 2011.

When she announced in March she would not stand again in the assembly election, she said it would allow her more time to look after her mother, Charlotte, who is 80 and has several health issues.