Mayor given two years to live
Councillor Peter Fleming will not seek re-election to Honiton Town Council. He wants to make the most of the time he has got left.
THE Mayor of Honiton, Councillor Peter Fleming, will not seek re-election to the town council in May - after being told he may only have two years to live.
Mr Fleming, 60, has already out-lived predictions by medical experts following a heart transplant in August 1999.
“I was all ready to stand again, but then I went for a routine check-up at Papworth Hospital and I was told I have probably only got two or three years left to live,” he said. “I want to make the most of what time I’ve got left.”
Before undergoing transplant surgery Mr Fleming could barely walk.
His life changed dramatically after the operation, although he was warned he may not live a year and 10 years was “out of the question”. “I have been given all these extra years and they have been a bonus,” he told The Midweek Herald.
Reflecting on his three years as a councillor and past year as mayor, Mr Fleming said: “It is absolutely brilliant being the mayor. I have really enjoyed it. I think it has been marvellous.”
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Mr Fleming has been married to wife Valerie for 37 years. They have two children and five grandchildren.
