A FORMER Lord Mayor of York today said he was "lucky to be alive" after fighting a near three-year battle against the superbug MRSA.

Derek Smallwood, pictured, said he had been left with a hole in his chest and "delves" in his legs after the bacteria swept through his body.

Coun Smallwood, ward councillor for Hull Road who was Lord Mayor in 1999, believes he picked up the bug after undergoing a series of operations in 2002. But he said the effects of the germ, some of which still remain, had left him in tremendous pain.

He said he was only given the all-clear last November after having a hospital operation to cut infected cartilage out of his chest.

His three years of treatment saw him attend York Hospital and Castle Hill Hospital in Hull, but it is not known where he contracted the illness.

Coun Smallwood, 64, revealed his battle against MRSA for the first time as he questioned City of York Council over its alternate weekly waste collections.

He said he worried about what would happen to medical waste now the authority has switched to fortnightly pick-ups of household refuse. MRSA, which stands for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, is a common type of bacteria that can live harmlessly on the skin but can cause septic wounds, heart-valve infections and even toxic shock syndrome.

Coun Smallwood, who has suffered from angina since 1991, was told by doctors he was only six minutes from death before having a life-saving heart bypass op.

Weeks later, his ribcage, weakened during the bypass, broke. This punctured a lung and scratched his heart, and he needed more treatment.

"MRSA has left me with holes in my chest which can't knit together because the bug has eaten away at the edges," he said. "I have got delves in my leg where it has eaten that away. I still struggle with my breathing but I'm determined to go on until the end. I am lucky to be here.

"I was in pain all the time. I had it for more than two-and-a-half-years and for about six months I was hanging on for dear life.

"For the first few months, I had a machine which dealt with the infection. Everywhere I went I had to carry that machine with me. I am still recovering."

Coun Smallwood said he was concerned the issue of medical waste in household refuse carried potential problems for people, such as himself, who had suffered health problems.

"I was putting the dressings in the bin. Anyone who came into contact with a discharge would have contracted MRSA. It is certainly not something I would want anyone else to suffer with. The council needs to take responsibility to dispose of this type of waste properly."

A spokeswoman for York Hospitals Trust said: "This man had two major operations at Castle Hill Hospital.

"He then had a post-operative MRSA infection, which is a recognised complication of surgery. Prior to major surgery, we now swab patients to test for MRSA.

"If a patient is found to be carrying MRSA on their skin, we ensure that the bacteria is eradicated before surgery takes place. Some people can be carrying MRSA on their skin when they come into hospital. The bacteria can enter the blood stream when the skin's natural barrier is penetrated by surgery or other invasive procedures."

Updated: 10:11 Tuesday, October 11, 2005