The Mayor embarked on a 1,000-mile round trip on a mission to patch up relations with Macclesfield’s German twin town.

Macclesfield has been twinned with Eckernforde, a fishing port in northern Germany, since 1953. But Coun David Neilson was stunned to hear that a letter was sent by Cheshire East Council to the German city’s local authority last year saying the twin status was under review.

CEC said it was looking at all the twinning relationships it inherited from its formation in 2009 and that they needed to be revised and updated.

Some people in both towns took this to mean the relationship could end and Coun Neilson said people in the German city were hurt by the suggestion.

CEC said it simply suggested the twinning arrangement could be taken over by the Charter Trustees.

So as chairman of the trustees, Coun Neilson funded a trip to Germany from his own pocket, flying with deputy mayor Martin Hardy on a budget airline to spend a day in meetings with political and business leaders in Eckernforde.

He said: "As mayor of Macclesfield I am entrusted with the historic traditions of the town and it is my job to protect them. When we found out about this we contacted the people in Eckernforde and told them the people of Macclesfield wanted to continue the links.

"Macclesfield was the very first place it was twinned with. It is now twinned with about six places and they are very proud of them all.

"So to lose the first one would be a real shame."

The mayor admitted the towns are different in size and make-up, but said that didn’t mean the relationship should end.

"The towns aren’t really similar but there were people from Eckernforde in Macclesfield after World War II and they wanted to keep in touch with each other, that’s how it came about."

Only last October the Macclesfield Male Voice choir visited the city, on the Danish border, to celebrate 150 years of the choral society.

Coun Neilson said his trip was similarly successful and he is now hoping the links can be as strong as ever.

"It went very well, we are delighted. It was difficult as we had to repay some of the trust that had been lost. But we were really welcomed by them.

"Eckernforde is a beautiful place and I think reaching out to other people and seeing the world is a good thing."

Coun Neilson and the charter trustees are now setting up a twinning committee which will decide on the best way to strengthen links.

Brian Reed, CEC head of democratic services, said: "The council decided last July to conduct a review of twinning arrangements inherited from the legacy authorities it superseded.

"One option under consideration is for twinning activities to be overseen and carried out by town councils, Charter Trustees or voluntary organisations.

"The council has entered into discussions with Eckernforde and has facilitated introductions between representatives of Eckernforde and the Macclesfield Charter Trustees.

"We are waiting to see how this develops before any final decision about twinning is made."