The mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme has died following a road accident last Thursday.
Barry Panter was first elected to the Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council in 2016, and was serving as ceremonial mayor for 2024-25.
Council leader Simon Tagg said: ‘Barry’s friends and colleagues are 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.
‘My thoughts, and those of the council, are with his wife Beatrice, family and friends.’
Cllr Panter joined the RAF aged 19 and later served as a police officer in South Wales for 23 years.
During his term as mayor he was raising money for the Salvation Army and Headway North Staffordshire, which supports adults with acquired brain injury.
