A TOWN councillor has been accused of breaking the rules after he tendered his resignation, only to withdraw it days later.

A row has broken out following the U-turn by Councillor James Earl, who is a member of Yarm Town Council. Coun Earl was one of nine Conservatives elected to the council in May.

He informed chairman Councillor Jason Hadlow, on August 24, that he intended to resign, but withdraw his resignation four days later.

At an earlier meeting, Coun Hadlow denied that he had read the email from Coun Earl, but at a subsequent meeting he confirmed that he had seen it.

Coun Hadlow has since been reported to the Standards Board for England, as the Local Government Act 1972 states that once the appropriate person has seen a resignation letter - in this case the chairman - the resignation should stand.

At last night's town council meeting, independent Councillor Marjorie Simpson, the only remaining member of the previous council, challenged Coun Hadlow over his handling of the situation.

She said: "I have heard that Councillor Earl was talked out of resigning and told to just turn up once every six months. That is shocking.

"You put him in charge of planning and he was totally out of his depth. It was totally unfair that you put him in that position, and totally unfair that you talked him out of resigning."

Coun Hadlow said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the subject, as an investigation by the Electoral Commission was pending.

Coun Simpson countered: "We only have your word for that. There is nothing in writing to say that an investigation is to be held."

Coun Simpson moved that the town council should consult the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) for it to advise and pass judgment.

She said: "If we put all the information we have together, including information from the general public, then NALC can decide what should be done."

The motion was put to a vote and was tied with two votes for, two against and two abstentions. It was then defeated on the chairman's casting vote.

Coun Simpson told Coun Hadlow: "You have voted and used your casting vote on something that you have a prejudicial interest in.

"As far as I am concerned, every member should stand back from what has been done with this resignation."