A HARTLEPOOL councillor has been arrested in connection with theft.

Labour’s Angie Wilcox is accused of stealing two bedside cabinets by a former landlord, who claims she took them from his private property on Fenton Road when she moved from there in October last year.

Coun Wilcox was arrested at her home on Friday, February 8. The cabinets alleged to have been stolen are believed to have been seized by police.

When approached by The Northern Echo, Coun Wilcox – who represents Hartlepool’s Manor House ward - declined to comment and said she believed there was “no case to answer”.

The councillor was held in police custody for six hours. A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: “A 50-year-old woman from Hartlepool has been arrested in connection with theft and has been released on bail pending further enquiries.”

Mother-of-one Coun Wilcox is elected until 2015 and acts as the vice chair of Children’s Services scrutiny and the South and Central Neighbourhood Forums. She is also a member of the Scrutiny Co-ordinating Committee and the Adult and Community Services Scrutiny Forum. She has worked in the voluntary sector for 30 years and is also the manager of Manor Residents’ Association.

A Hartlepool Borough Council spokesman said: “It would be wholly inappropriate to make any comment while a police investigation is ongoing.”