Ealing is to be twinned with a borough of the Polish capital, Warsaw.

On his very first day in office, Ealing's new mayor, Cllr David Bond, signed a formal declaration to establish a sister city relationship with the Warsaw Borough of Bielany.

The Mayor of Bielany, Karol Szadurski, currently in Ealing as one of a party of Polish representatives on a five-day visit, has also signed the declaration.

As twin town Ealing and Bielany will exchange culture and work at improving relations between the two boroughs.

Representatives of both boroughs attended a gala dinner at Ealing Town Hall during the official visit, and the Polish party were taken on a guided tour of Ealing and also to view a local housing estate.

Ealing was first approached by representatives of the borough's large Polish community in July 1998, and asked to consider twinning with a Polish town.

The borough of was eventually chosen and, following discussions, visits were conducted between the two towns in April and September of last year.

Bielany is one of 11 Warsaw boroughs in the northwest of the Polish city.

The borough has a population of 146,000 and around 15,000 businesses.