A MIDDLESBROUGH councillor has been hauled before a standards watchdog for speaking up for the community she represents.

When she appeared before an adjudication panel of the Standards Board for England, Councillor Joan McTigue was found to have broken Middlesbrough Council's code of conduct.

The Independent Saltersgill councillor was reported to the panel by the chairman of the council's planning committee, Councillor John McPartland, after she spoke up on behalf of residents concerned about the location of a BMX track in the Beechwood area of the town.

Despite the panel deciding she should have declared an interest in the application, due to the proximity of her home to the track, no sanctions were issued against her.

After the hearing, Coun McTigue said: "Despite having been found to have contravened the code, the fact no sanction has been imposed on me reflects how seriously the panel viewed this.

"At the end of the day, bearing in mind the result, I would question whether it was worth thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money to reach this decision."

The adjudication panel ruled that Coun McTigue:

* Should have declared a personal interest at a meeting of the council's overview and scrutiny board and at the planning committee when the BMX track was discussed;

* Should have declared a prejudicial interest at the overview and scrutiny board, because it was only during that meeting that it became clear construction traffic would not use the road where she lived to gain access to the BMX site;

* Did not bring herself or the authority into disrepute with her comments that appeared in a newspaper when she said the BMX track decision was "a foregone conclusion".

The panel also decided to recommend the council to offer training to councillors on the code of conduct.