THE Mayor of Worcester is today facing fresh criticism - with the number of events he has missed hitting double figures already.

Councillor Alan Amos has come under fire for being notoriously absent at the opening of the Three Choirs Festival, a massive event which is among the most important of the year.

Every year it is tradition for the event, which switches between Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester annually, to be opened in grand style in a bash attended by all three mayors.

During this year's massive opening, which took place at Worcester Cathedral, the only mayor absent was Cllr Amos, who sent his deputy Councillor Roger Knight.

Your Worcester News has been through his mayoral diary and it means Cllr Amos has missed 10 events so far where his deputy has filled in.

It includes an Age UK Herefordshire & Worcestershire festival, the unveiling of the Archbishop William Temple Bust statue at the University of Worcester, Worcester District Scout Council's AGM, the opening of a garden at Gorse Hill Primary School and a 30th anniversary celebration of St Richard's Hospice.

Guildhall tours with exchange students from the USA and two separate visits from German pupils also saw his deputy fill in, as well as the fourth birthday party of a charity called New Hope.

Although the exact reasons for missing them are unclear, Cllr Amos was on holiday at the start of June, which accounted for at least six of them, while he was said to be at a family event on Southwold on Saturday, July 26 when The Three Choirs Festival opening took place.

Councillor Paul Denham, who was last year's deputy mayor, said: "Normally the mayor is the one who gets invited to things and the deputy only steps in if there's a clash, that's the way it worked when I did it.

"I didn't do many last year, it was more like one or two a month.

"The Three Choirs Festival is an absolutely massive event, it only ever comes to Worcester every three years and that's precisely why the mayor is asked to attend.

"It is disappointing."

Worcester's Labour parliamentary candidate Councillor Joy Squires has gone on Twitter to criticise his absence, calling it an "historic" event before saying: "Mayor is on holiday again."

Cllr Amos told your Worcester News despite missing the opening he did attend three separate Three Choirs Festival events during the week, including the closing function.

He would not confirm why was away from the opening, but said: "As the mayoral diary shows, I attended three Three Choirs events at the Cathedral last week."

Cllr Amos, a Warndon councillor, became the mayor in June after quitting the Labour Party to become an independent.

He then voted in a Conservative administration 48 hours later, kicking his old party out of power, and was elected mayor by the new administration.