A POPULAR council figure who has scaled some of the world's most fearsome mountains has climbed back into his town hall seat.

John Wells ended 34 years' service with Burnley Council this month when he took early retirement.

But the 54-year-old, of Peel Park Avenue, Accrington, could not resist applying for a post as town clerk to Clitheroe Town Council and has now gone back to his desk after being offered the job.

John wasn't exactly going to put his feet up anyway - he is an experienced mountain climber and lists France's Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn in Austria and Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya among the peaks he has conquered.

His wife Glenys said: "He was presented with a plaque at Burnley after he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in February and he's now planning his next expedition!"

John has been in local government since he was 19 and has also worked at Clayton-le-Moors urban district council and Hyndburn Council. The couple have a son Andrew, 14, and a daughter Sarah, 27.

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