THE Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen today thanked residents for their support during his recent operation -- and revealed how one pensioner even sent him £10 to buy a bottle of scotch!

Coun John Williams was out of action for more than a month after undergoing a half-hip replacement operation in Birmingham.

He had hoped to hold off having the operation until the end of his mayoral year but doctors advised him to go under the surgeon's knife sooner if he wanted to sure of saving his mobility.

Coun Williams, who lives in Pleasington, returned to action last week, chairing a meeting of the full council in Blackburn Town Hall.

He said: "It is wonderful to be back and I would like to thank everyone for their support. I have received cards and best wishes from every section of the community, and it has really overwhelmed me. I even got a card from one pensioner which had a tenner inside it for me to buy myself a bottle of scotch. It was a very nice gesture and I was very touched by it."

Coun Williams' hip operation -- which he paid for privately to save waiting -- was not a full hip replacement, but a partial one, where a pin is inserted in the joint to help it work more effectively.