MINEHEAD Town Council was rocked this week by a shock announcement from Cllr Sandra Slade resigning as mayor and as a member of the authority because she had lost the support and trust of a number of fellow councillors.

The Free Press has learned that the resignation resulted from weeks of no-confidence campaigning by a small number of members, involving what were claimed to be “personally offensive and abusive” emails demanding that she step down.

In a resignation message to councillors, Cllr Slade said: “It is with great sadness that I feel I have been forced into a position where I have no option but to resign as mayor and as a member of Minehead Town Council with immediate effect.”

She told the Free Press: “It has become increasingly clear to me that I do not have the support and trust of some councillors. The decision was reached after a great deal of thought but I could not see any alternative.”

Matters were said to have come to a head during the current suspension of town clerk Jenny Bashford when there were serious divisions among councillors on how the case should be treated.

Cllr Slade said that lack of support from some councillors and having to self-isolate during the coronavirus crisis had brought her to the conclusion that it was no longer tenable for her to continue serving Minehead as either mayor or a councillor.

Cllr Slade, who was elected as an Independent, succeeded Cllr Norman Hercock as mayor in May last year.

Cllr Hercock told the Free Press: “A number of councillors felt they had no confidence in the way the mayor handled the issue of the town clerk, which has been dragging on since last April.

“The whole council should have been involved in the decision without bringing in outside bodies because, in the end, whatever the result is, Minehead ratepayers will pick up the bill.”

Deputy Mayor Paul Bolton will take over until the next elections, originally scheduled for next month.

The full report is in today’s Free Press.