THE Lord Mayor of York has refused to back a new memorial fund for Rod Hills because of allegations that the former council leader took drugs.

Coun Charles Hall said he would not initially put his name to the Rod Hills Memorial Fund - a charity to help disadvantaged city students at the University of York.

The fund, spearheaded by solicitor John Yeomans and Labour group deputy leader Viv Kind, will establish a trust giving a vital cash boost to York students who need financial help to study at the University.

The fledgling trust has already received its first cheque and will be funded by donations.

Coun Kind said Rod's career "focused on the issues of addressing disadvantage and inequality for people in York".

But the Lord Mayor's request to "wait and see" whether the charity will be supported is a blow to the new venture.

Coun Hall said he had advised the trust board to wait six months following allegations that Rod had experimented with drugs.

In September, the Press reported how Rod's former lover, Julie Long, claimed he confessed to smoking crack in Leeds. Rod died, aged 57, of natural causes in a flat in Chapeltown, Leeds, last July.

Coun Kind said she hoped the fund would be a "fitting tribute" to Rod's two decades of service in York. "The University is supporting this scheme. We wanted to do something that continues the sort of work he did - something to which he would say 'yes, that's a great thing to do'.

"This is a fund that will hopefully continue over years. Rod made an outstanding contribution to York's well-being. What we wanted was to do something that would benefit other people."

Students will be encouraged to apply to the fund and letters have gone out to Labour members and others asking for support.

But Coun Hall said: "I suggested it (the fund announcement) should be left for a little while because of the recent comments with regards to drug-taking by Rod Hills.

"I felt it needed to lie down a little bit before I was prepared to put my name to it. When it has settled down we could look at Rod on the positive note, rather on what happened in the past."

Coun Hall's comments were echoed by City of York Council leader Steve Galloway, who said: "In due course some kind of memorial might well be appropriate. I think it is a little soon after recent events to be launching a fund of that sort.

Bob Towner, a former council director of housing and a long-term friend of Rod, added: "We know there are people in York who, despite the difficulties Rod faced, recognised the outstanding contribution that he made to the city of York.

"The Lord Mayor's position is a disappointment but I can understand it, in that he is a figurehead in the city and may wish to feel that the recent controversy makes it difficult for him to be a signatory."

Updated: 13:10 Wednesday, October 22, 2003