Prankster fools people into believing he is Mayor of Stafford

A prankster's fun and games in Staffordshire have finally been ended, after he was found not to be the Mayor of Stafford as he claimed.

James Billington, who is believed to be in his 30s, set up a spoof Twitter account called @mayorofstafford and began communicating with a host of local organisations.

It got to the point where Mr Billington was even invited to cut the ribbon at the opening of nearby theme park Alton Towers as it began its 2014 season.

Other cases involve him visiting a building site and commenting on the impressive levels of investment being seen in the town, as well as attending a local half marathon and congratulating elderly people on their birthdays while dressed in his full livery.

The trickster even had badges reading 'I'm the Mayor of Stafford' produced, which he handed out to many of the people he met.

Suspicions were raised when he recently tweeted about a meeting with the Mayor of Shrewsbury Jon Tandy and claimed not to like his counterpart, only for Mr Tandy to respond to say he had never met the Mayor of Stafford. He later filed a complaint.

It was later revealed to Mr Tandy that the real Mayor of Stafford was in fact Angela Loughran, who has held the role for ten months.

Unsurprisingly, Stafford Borough Council is now keen for Twitter to shut down the bogus account, as Mr Billington has no link to the local authority whatsoever.

"Nobody minds a bit of fun on social media. But it is unacceptable that this person is purporting to be the Mayor of Stafford and making disparaging remarks about another mayor. This is bringing the mayoralty into disrepute," said Councillor Loughran.

As well as being thanked by Alton Towers, Mr Billington's other highlights include an invitation from Stafford Round Table to a fundraising event and the chance to launch a new book club in the town.