The Mayor of Dudley has raised more than £40,000 for charity in just one year in office.

Councillor Steve Waltho has crammed in hundreds of civic engagements, fundraising events and other activities during his Mayoral year.

It includes a record-breaking Mayor’s charity ball, a London Marathon, a climb up Ben Nevis and a range of other events to help generate the cash for his five charities. People have also been donating online via the Mayor’s 'BT My Donate' charity page which has raised over £1,000 this year.

But the year is dwarfed by the hundreds of thousands of pounds Councillor Waltho has managed to raise for charity over more than 40 years.

From climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to setting up snooker and table tennis marathons he has done it all in the name of charity, raising more than £250,000 for worthy causes along the way.

All of these treks and stunts have been carried out while juggling his role serving his community as a dedicated local councillor for more than 18 years with Dudley Council and holding down a full time shift job at chemical manufacturers 'Solvay' in Oldbury who kindly allowed him a year’s release to undertake his Mayoral duties.

When his term in office ends later this month, he hopes to have raised more than a staggering £50,000 for his chosen charities - The Hope Centre, The What? Centre, More Mascots Please, Leukaemia Unit Appeal Fund, Russells Hall and The West Midlands Lupus Group. Councillor Waltho said: 

“It has been an honour to meet some incredible people and organisations doing wonderful things across our borough in a year we’ll never forget.

"There are so many amazing charities out there who really do change lives. Without the work they do many people would simply not be able to lead anything like a normal life.

"I’ve been in a very privileged position as a councillor, and as Mayor, which has given me a unique opportunity to raise a large amount of money to help these charities continue their work.”