A Hindu god is to liven-up the quiet red carpeted corridors of the House of Lords thanks to a Lord who has never forgotten his roots.

Add dolphins to represent Brighton and Hove, martlets for Sussex and black bucks and you have probably the most original coat of arms ever devised for a peer of the realm.

The coat of many images belongs to Liberal Democrat peer Lord Navnit Dholakia of Waltham Brooks.

As a 17-year-old student, he arrived in Brighton from Tanzania to become one of the youngest Brighton councillors to date.

He has since worked his way up to become the president of the Liberal Democrats and the party's home affairs spokesman in the House of Lords.

He is also on the powerful Appointments Commission, which vets all would-be appointments to become cross-bench members of Parliament's upper house.

Since he was appointed to the Lords in 1997, he has been working on a coat of arms, which will be handed down to future generations of his family.

Lord Dholakia, who lives at Coldwaltham, near Pulborough, is proud of the design but admits: "It has raised a few eyebrows."

The peer said: "I wanted something which represents my life and links with Sussex.

"I have taken the title of Lord Dholakia of Waltham Brooks because my house in Sussex overlooks a piece of countryside called Waltham Brooks and I love this open part of the county.

"I will never forget the people of Brighton started off my political career when they elected me as the Liberal councillor for Pier ward in 1962, covering the seafront area of Kemp Town. When anyone asks where I come from, I always say Brighton."

The mostly-black design is now fully registered with the appropriate authorities, after having been fully approved by the Garter King of Arms and the College of Arms. It is now ready to become part of history.

Lord Dholakia will use it on letter headings and it will hang proudly in his room in the Lords.

The tireless campaigner for racial equality said: "The Hindu god of Ganesh is the god of luck. It is an elephant head riding on the back of a mouse and goes back to Indian mythology. I have always been interested in elephants and collect miniatures of them.

"The shield has the Sussex martlets on it and the Brighton dolphins and two black bucks on either side to remind me of the wildlife in the area which is my homeland."

The Lord has chosen as his motto Carpe Diem, Latin for Seize the Day.

He said: "It is a rather unusual coat of arms and believed to be the first time a Hindu god has been used in a design.

"To have a Hindu god in the House of Lords does rather break with tradition".