16 May 2014
The new mayor of
Chippenham got the fright of his life last week when Russian police arrested
him as a suspected terrorist.
Councillor John Scragg
has just got back from Russia, where he said he was detained for five hours.
He was on an organised
trip in Samara, southwest Russia, with about 20 others to see the local public
transport, when he and another man got taken into the metro police station.
“The police couldn’t
work out why all our photos were of trams and trolley buses, rather than the usual
cathedrals,” said Coun Scragg, 68.
“I feared we were going
to get thrown out of Russia. They questioned us separately and finally let us
go at 11.30pm.”
Chippenham’s chains
were passed from Sylvia Gibson to Coun Scragg on Tuesday night. It is the third
time the Liberal Democrat councillor, who represents the Lowden and Rowden
ward, has been elected mayor, also having served in the role in 1992 and 2005.
Coun Scragg, of Field
View, Chippenham, said: “It’s great because you get to meet a lot of people and
get a really good idea of what’s going on in the town.”
His charity of the year
will be research into cures for eye disease.
Coun David Powell is
deputy mayor.
Julie Armstrong
