A MALVERN councillor, who fell backwards off his chair at the start of a council meeting and nearly severed the tip of a finger, has undergone a four-hour operation.

Councillor John Wilcox is now recovering at home after the accident in the town council chamber on Belle Vue Terrace just as he was about to chair the operations committee meeting on Tuesday October 21.

As he fell backwards, his finger became trapped behind a ladder resting against the wall of the council chamber.

Mr Wilcox was treated at the council chamber by paramedics before being taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital where he underwent a four-hour operation the following day to try to save the fingertip.

Councillor Wilcox’s wife Monica said her husband was coping but very shocked and in considerable pain. “I would like to say that the staff at the hospital were fantastic,” she said.

Mr Wilcox is due to see a consultant at the hospital on Tuesday.

The operations committee meeting was abandoned following the incident and will now take place on Tuesday, December 9.

Town clerk Richard Chapman said: “Councillor Wilcox is stable. Everybody at the council wishes him all the best and we look forward to seeing him back soon.”