A MAYOR last night held on to his office when a motion to remove him was withdrawn at the last minute.

Councillor Jimmy Alvey faced censure from his Labour Party colleagues on Peterlee Town Council when he refused to maintain an impartial stance on the provision of a skateboard park for the town.

His deliberate siding with the Peterlee Skateboard Action Group's plea for a facility in Woodhouse Park brought him into conflict with fellow councillors.

By breaking ranks with the majority of the council, the mayor faced losing his civic post, just weeks before he was due to hand over office.

However, at a meeting of the council at Shotton Hall last night, the leader of the council, Councillor Dennis Coates, announced: "The notice of motion will not be put."

The decision, which took the mayor by surprise, was welcomed by the large number of people who had expected to see Coun Alvey thrown out of office.

Speaking after the meeting, Coun Alvey said he was relieved, but had been given no explanation for the U-turn.

"I will be seeking advice over what has happened. My reputation has been put in question, and I think I deserve an apology.''

Coun Coates said later he had withdrawn the motion because it was clouding the issue of the provision of a skateboard park. He said the council's priority was to see the formation of a sub-committee of councillors and action group members to resolve the provision of a skateboard park as quickly as possible