Tributes paid to outgoing South Tyneside mayor after raising £10k for charity

South Tyneside’s outgoing mayor has reflected on his “incredible experience” representing the borough and thanked residents for their support after raising more than £10,000 for charity during his time in office.

As part of South Tyneside Council’s annual meeting on Tuesday, tributes were paid to councillor John McCabe, Hebburn South ward representative, for his work as mayor in 2023/24.

Councillor Angela Lamonte hailed her ward colleague for carrying out his duties “with pride and dedication” adding he was “an excellent ambassador for the borough”.

She added he carried out “over 150 engagements both borough and region-wide” and although the total amount of funds he raised for charities is not known, it is “in excess of £10,000 this year, which is a tremendous amount”.

His chosen charities which he was fundraising for included the borough’s food banks and Hospital Radio South Tyneside.

Cllr McCabe, who held office alongside his wife Julie, his mayoress, said: “As we reflect on our time in office, the mayoress and I have had an incredible experience representing our wonderful borough.

“We met so many special people doing some fantastic work in our communities.

“It’s a period of our lives we will look back on fondly and with amazing memories. We thank everyone for their support and helping us to raise money for good causes.”

Speaking at the annual meeting, Cllr McCabe said he strived to encourage businesses to come to the borough and supported young people in his time in the role, bringing numerous schools into the town hall.

He added: “If we can provide in the borough a good standard of education, where we have really, really good schools, if we can then pass that knowledge on to the young people, they have greater chances of better employment.

“If you educate a young person not to do silly things like paint on walls and smash bus stops up, it makes a better world for us all, especially in South Tyneside.

“I believe that South Tyneside, will and can go forward in a very, very positive way and that’s what I’m looking forward to in this chamber over the next year.”

He also congratulated the new mayor Cllr Fay Cunningham and her mayoress Stella Matthewson and stressed the role is an important one in the borough and “an excellent way of promoting all that is great about South Tyneside”.