A DISTRICT councillor has accused a prospective MP of "pettiness" after she was barred from entering a meeting in her home village.

Jane Parlour says the agent of the Tory candidate for Richmond, Rishi Sunak, stood in the doorway to prevent her attending an event in Croft village hall on Thursday evening.

Cllr Parlour, who represents the Croft ward on Richmondshire District Council as an independent, said she only wanted to attend to hear what he had to say and had no plans to heckle the candidate.

She added: "I had seen Rishi's agent Matthew Vickers loitering by the door. I was ready to go in but Mr Vickers, with Rishi stood behind him, said I couldn't.

"They said they had paid for the hall and they could let in who they liked."

The councillor said her exclusion came despite an invitation to the event being posted through her door.

"It was very bizarre and seems really petty - I was just completely dumbfounded. They literally blocked the door to stop me from getting in. I asked them why and they said it was because I was not welcome and I was supporting another candidate."

In response, Mr Vickers said he refused to let the councillor in because of her behaviour at a previous meeting organised by the Conservatives.

He said the councillor had gone around the room at the end of the event asking people for their contact details.

Mr Vickers added that she was a member of the election team of another candidate, John Blackie.

"Her performance at a previous meeting led to her being turned away," he said.

"We are holding these village meetings literally every night. They are meant to be a positive opportunity for residents to question the candidate. It's not supposed to be a hostile environment where he is questioned by another politician - that's what hustings are for."