The councillor who was axed by his party when he was Sheriff of York has praised the work of retiring Labour MP Hugh Bayley.

Mr Bayley, who represents the York Central constituency announced he would not stand again last week.

Cllr Brian Watson who was a Labour councillor and now sits as an independent, said: "I am very sad to hear that Hugh is standing down as York’s MP.

"It will be a great loss because he has done an excellent job and whilst the full extent of it has not been known by many residents, this has just highlighted his modesty in his approach to the role.

"Whilst he has stretched the boundaries of his position across many countries he has never forgotten his constituents.

"His shoes will be very hard to fill and I hope it will be by someone with mud on their boots and dirt on their hands, in other words someone with an experience of life and not just a career politician, he doesn’t deserve to be followed like that."

Cllr Watson resigned from the Labour party following his deselection for the Guildhall Ward. He was Sheriff of York at the time and has yet to announce if he will be standing as an independent in May's elections next year.