York's Lord Mayor has been enjoying a visit to the city's German twin. ELLEN BULTMANN, a reporter from the Westfalische Nachrichten newspaper, who has been working on the Evening Press, found out more

THE Lord Mayor of York, David Horton, got a bumpier ride than he was expecting when he paid a visit to York's twin city, in Germany.

An "exciting and worthwhile" trip was marred when a front tyre burst on a minibus carrying Councillor Horton and others as they returned from a celebration of York's twinning with Mnster.

The minibus was travelling from Mnster to Dsseldorf airport after the visit, last Sunday.

The vehicle had only just left Mnster and was going at 60mph when the accident happened.

Coun Horton said: "The young lady driver managed to pull up on the hard shoulder and we all climbed out over the crash barrier of the autobahn." A taxi took the York-bound travellers to the airport.

Although there were some unusual incidents on the agenda, the scare was not meant to be one of them.

The scheduled surprises included dinner with the elephants at Mnster's zoo, an evening at a comedians' theatre, and a farewell party in a pub.

The Lord Mayor, on his first visit to Mnster, discovered a lot of similar characteristics between the twin cities.

He said: "The similarities extend from the architectural style to the sense of appreciating history. Large areas of Mnster had to be rebuilt after the war."

In meetings with the Lord Mayor of Mnster, Berthold Tillmann, the representatives from York discussed possibilities for improving twinning activities. They planned sport exchanges for football and basketball.

"We want to develop school exchanges as well, but teachers here tend to be worried about the consequences of possible accidents," Coun Horton said.

York will learn from the way recycling operates in Mnster, while the German city wants to find out more about York's Park&Ride system.

Coun Horton was accompanied by the Lady Mayoress, Kathleen Gibson, the Sheriff of York, Councillor Martin Brumby, and his Lady, Annette Brumby.

The chairman of the York-Mnster Association, Bill Shaw, also travelled to the Westphalian capital to mark the 45th anniversary of the twinning as well as the thirteenth anniversary of German reunification.

The visiting party also included City of York Council's chief executive, David Atkinson, who will now be the first point of contact for people from Mnster who are interested in a work experience or any other kind of official contact with York.

"Whereas our German partners already have someone appointed for this task, there was a lack of co-ordination on our side," Coun Horton said.

Updated: 11:09 Friday, October 11, 2002