A MAN who has kept his post as Mayor of Bedale said this week that he wanted to draw a line under an episode which saw him fined for an offence involving illegal tobacco products.

Coun Ray Calvert won the support of fellow town councillors on Monday, when he said he saw no reason to resign as mayor or as a councillor.

He announced: "I do not consider that I have done anything to bring the council into disrepute and therefore do not intend to resign. I have been touched by the level of support I have received."

When approached by the D&S Times later, 59-year-old Coun Calvert, of South End, Bedale, said: " I just want to draw a line under the whole lot. I have had a very stressful week."

Last week he was fined £300 by Richmond Magistrates after he admitted allowing the Riverside Club in Emgate, Bedale, where he was secretary, to be used for the sale of unmarked tobacco products.

He said he regretted the incident and stressed there was no question of any personal gain.

Linda Christine Lloyd, a 48-year-old club stewardess, was also fined £300 after she admitted offering unmarked tobacco products for sale.

The prosecution was taken out by Customs and Excise following a visit to the club in January, four months before Coun Calvert became mayor

Before the normal council meeting on Monday, Coun Calvert waited in the foyer of Bedale Hall while colleagues discussed his case privately.

Village invaded by flies

A VILLAGE near Ripon is under siege from hordes of flies in the hot and humid weather.

So many complaints have been received from people in Burton Leonard that they are being logged and monitored by environmental health officers, who said they did not believe there was any risk to public health. No source has yet been identified.

Health officers said the pests were believed to be cluster flies, which do not visit foodstuffs, and lesser houseflies. Breeding and hatching are encouraged by warm, damp conditions.

Health officers said recent weather had proved an ideal breeding environment for the larvae of cluster flies, which gathered in sheltered areas and fed off flower nectar. In autumn they gathered in cool areas like loft spaces, which should be treated with an insecticide.

People should use fly screens or curtains on open windows and doors to prevent houseflies from becoming trapped in houses. Sticky fly paper and a spray would limit numbers indoors, and food preparation surfaces should be regularly wiped down with a disinfectant