POLICE are investigating claims that a veteran councillor and grandmother punched and spat at a North-East mayor during a row over parking charges.

Jason Hadlow, the 48-year-old Conservative chairman of Yarm Town Council, called in police after he claimed Marjorie Simpson, an independent, gave him a “right hook” on his cheek in the council chamber during a row connected with controversial parking charges in the town.

Last night, the grandmother-of-two denied the claims and insisted she only tried to push Mr Hadlow away, acting in self defence, because he was shouting in her face.

Cleveland Police confirmed they were investigating an incident in which a 48-year-old man had reported being assaulted in Yarm on March 13.

Town councillors have banned Mrs Simpson from speaking at meetings until the criminal investigation is over.

Mr Hadlow claimed Mrs Simpson pushed him into a window following the meeting.

He said the furious pensioner threatened that her husband would beat him up, then spat in his face before landing a right hook on his cheek.

The entrepreneur, who runs the Simply Dutch furniture and antiques shop in Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, told The Northern Echo last night: “Marjorie Simpson... has offended too many people.

“Enough is enough. It’s over. It was clearly demonstrated at the previous council meeting that she is way out of touch with those who elected her and it’s about time she was retired from the council chamber altogether.

“Hopefully, the police will do just that.”

However, Mrs Simpson said she had been frightened during the argument with Mr Hadlow because he was “nose to nose” with her. She denied spitting at him or hitting him.

She said: “He flew into a rage and he said to me ‘you are totally finished, you are a has-been, you need looking after by social services’.

“He had his nose nearly up to my nose. As I stepped back to get away, he stepped forward. I tried not to let him see I was frightened.

“It is a good job I have done ballroom dancing all my life, because if I hadn’t been used to going backwards, I would have fallen over.

“I pushed him away at one point and he shouted ‘assault, assault’.

“He came back with his face up to mine and said ‘Go on then, spit at me, hit me, slap me, go on, do it’.

“My natural reaction was ‘he needs a slap’, but I thought I can’t because that is exactly what he wants.”

Mrs Simpson said she put her hand up slowly between his face and hers.

She said: “He just seemed to disappear. I thought he had dropped something on the floor.

“Then he went to the window and called the police.”

She said she had to go to the police station to be interviewed on tape “like a criminal”.

She said: “I thought the assault allegation was because I had pushed him away. I was quite surprised when I went to the police station and they said I had punched him.

“I certainly did not punch him or spit at him. He verbally abused me for what seemed like a long time and I just tried to get him away from me.”

At a Yarm Town Council meeting last week, councillors voted 5-4 in favour of Mrs Simpson being banned from speaking at meetings until the criminal investigation was over.

The alleged assault came only days after a heated public meeting in Yarm about the possible introduction of parking charges by Stockton Borough Council.

Mrs Simpson faced criticism for opposing council plans to mount a legal challenge to the charges. She argued that the move could lead to a defeat costing tens of thousands of pounds and proposed a softer approach towards Stockton council.

At the end of the meeting, Mr Hadlow jokingly said: “Anyone who wants to stay and bait Marjorie...?”

Mrs Simpson claims the meeting was filled with Mr Hadlow’s friends rather than genuine Yarm traders, but Mr Hadlow dismissed the suggestion as ridiculous.