Borough's mayor dies in car crash

Barry Panter had served as a Newcastle-under-Lyme councillor since 2016

The mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Barry Panter, has died following a car crash.

The leader of the borough council, Simon Tagg, said his friends and colleagues were "shocked to hear this news".

"We all saw him on Wednesday, chairing the meeting of full council with his usual authority, and now to hear this is simply terrible," he said.

The authority said the crash happened on Thursday evening.

Mr Panter, who was elected mayor last year, had been raising money for the Salvation Army and Headway North Staffordshire during his term in office.

The council said the RAF veteran, who also served with South Wales Constabulary, moved to North Staffordshire in 2002 and was first elected to Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council in 2016 to represent the Loggerheads ward.