Marlborough Mayor Nick Fogg has pledged he will not be using any public funds when he travels to America and possibly also to New Zealand to firm up links with the towns sharing the same name.

The current annual allowance received by mayors in Marlborough is £3,100 out of which they have to pay for things like the mayor making festivities and entertaining visitors to the town.

However Coun Fogg said he had no intention of using any of his allowance or seeking any subsidy from council funds for his forthcoming visits although there could well be a long term benefit for Marlborough with increased understanding between it and other Marlboroughs around the world and attracting more visitors from those towns.

Coun Fogg said: “I do hope to visit Marlborough in Massachusetts. I have been invited to contribute to a lecture series at the university in Ontario of which I am a Fellow. My expenses will be paid through the faculty.

“While there, I hope to visit Marlborough MA, which is but a train journey away, at my own expense.

“Although I have been invited to visit Marlborough in New Zealand, constraints of time and money will probably preclude this. If I do so, it will be at my own expense.”

Coun Fogg said he believed there was a lot to be gained for Marlboroughm from greater contact with the other towns around the world that share the name.

“These kinds of links can bring great mutual cultural, economic and educational benefits if handled rightly.

“I would agree with the feeling that they should not be beanos at the ratepayers' expense.”

Many mayors of Marlborough in Wiltshire have visited the namesake towns in the USA and New Zealand. The people of Marlborough District NZ which is famous for its wines sent both wines and some of their famed mussels for Coun Fogg’s mayor making last month.