REDCAR and Cleveland Council leader Mary Lanigan has returned to work following a heart attack.

Cllr Lanigan spent three nights in James Cook University Hospital, earlier this month after falling ill and later thanked well-wishers for the messages, cards and flowers she had received while recovering.

She was welcomed back by Councillor Cliff Foggo, who was chairing the local authority’s growth, enterprise and environment scrutiny and improvement committee.

Cllr Lanigan, who has been on the council for 18 years, made a virtual appearance at the committee meeting from home. She commented on a presentation given to the committee by Zoe Lewis, the chief executive of Middlesbrough College, and agreed a meeting to discuss potential future plans for its TTE training facility in South Bank.

Cllr Lanigan, who lives in Easington, heads up the independent/Liberal Democrat coalition on the council which took control in May last year. She is a member of the cabinet at the Tees Valley Combined Authority.