The final figure of £58,750 raised by Councillor Dave Tyler is a new record, beating the £55,000 raised by Councillor Steve Waltho two years ago. Cheques were handed over to Dudley Mind, Dudley Alzheimer’s Society and the YMCA, Councillor Tyler’s three chosen charities, at Himley Hall. Councillor Tyler said:

"It was an honour to serve as Mayor of Dudley, alongside my wife Barbara, and to be able to help raise funds for these charities which are so close to my heart. These organisations will be able to use this money to support people when they or a family member are going through difficult times and I feel humbled to have been able to play a small part in supporting their important work.

"My wife and I would like to say a massive thank you to all the individuals, groups and organisations that generously contributed throughout the year to help raise such a large amount of money."

Dave racked up hundreds of civic engagements, fundraising events, business visits and other activities during his Mayoral year.

It included a hugely successful Mayor’s charity ball and a sportsman’s dinner with Liverpool legend Kevin Keegan, as well as a range of other events to help generate the cash for his three charities. Emma Butler, community fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Society, said:

"We’re delighted to receive the money from the Mayor. We do a fantastic job for people with dementia, and their carers, and we couldn’t continue the work that we do without the support from people like Dave and Barbara.

"It will be used to cover ongoing costs for providing the services we’ve already got - things like our dementia cafes, dementia support workers, dementia navigators."

Cllr Tyler was succeeded in the role of Mayor by Cllr Alan Taylor, who is raising money for Headway Black Country, White House Cancer Support and The Hope Centre this year.