THE mayor of Pocklington, Coun Martin Cooper, is out and about again after suffering an industrial accident.

In April, Coun Cooper was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance after getting his left arm caught in a machine at East Riding Sacks in Full Sutton, where he has worked for 28 years.

Coun Cooper, who is mayor until May 20, was kept in hospital while doctors performed skin grafts and then analysed fractures to his arm. But on Monday, he returned to the paper sacks firm to see colleagues.

He said: “I’ve been into work to see everybody and it was really nice to see their smiling faces and get their good wishes.”

While his deputy is conducting his external duties as mayor, Coun Cooper is still working behind the scenes, attending meetings to arrange the final details for a fundraising event taking place on Thursday.

The local talent night, in which one of the 15 acts will be chosen by the audience to win £100, is being held to raise money for the mayor’s chosen charities, The Wolds Wonders and Pocklington History Society, as well as Friends of Pocklington Arts Centre. Admission for the event, which starts at 7pm, is £5 on the door.

He said: “I’m struggling to get into a shirt so can’t wear a suit. The chain of office is a bit problematic when your arm’s stuck in a sling.”

Coun Cooper said it was too early to say whether the skin grafts had worked, but he had been told the fractures were likely to heal normally. A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Executive said an investigation into the incident was continuing.