England's Most Useless town council mayor Gordon 'Jilted John' McLeod from Hadleigh has been named Scarecrow of the Year.

The lesser spotted McLeod was recognised in special open air ceremony, despite not turning up for Hadleigh town council meetings for nearly three months.

McLeod was recognised by the judges for wearing his mayoral robes, despite insisting they were looking shabby and needed a couple of grand to make them look better.

Rolf Paloi, spokesperson for the Scarecrow Society, said: "It is only right that this EMU, Cllr McLeod, should be honoured in this way as he was outstanding in his field."

The tight-lipped town council declined to say if Gordon was indeed a moron, or if he was ever attending another town meeting.

EMU Jilted John gets fresh acclaim (Picture: Nub News library)