FAVERSHAM Mayor Tom Gates is due to undergo major heart surgery at a London hospital on Thursday. Cllr Gates, 60, is to have a triple heart bypass at the London Bridge Hospital. He is expected to stay in hospital for eight days.

The mayor decided to have private treatment after being told he would have to wait a year to have the operation on the NHS. He had a heart attack in 1978, when he was 38, and a minor one two years ago.

He said: "I hope to be able to fully resume my mayoral duties after Christmas. In the meantime my deputy, Cindy Davis, will be taking over."