SHAMED Haltwhistle town councillor Kevin Little tried to bring the authority to its knees, one of his council colleagues has claimed.

Coun. Michael Ridley spoke out at a meeting of Haltwhistle Town Council held last Friday to discuss Coun. Little’s future role, after Northumberland County Council’s standards committee upheld claims that he bullied and intimidated town clerk Susan Saunders, at meetings and via email, in 2015.

Coun. Ridley said: “In my opinion he has tried to bring this town council down on its knees with his episodes.

“What happens if his attitude and antics carry on at council level? He has a habit of taking over the meeting, and we will probably be wasting our time coming, to be honest.”

Members had no power at last Friday’s meeting to sack Coun. Little, who was not present.

However, they handed out the maximum possible penalty, in accordance with recommendations outlined in a report from the standards committee. Coun. Little will be suspended from all sub-committees and working groups for 12 months.

That means he will have to step down from his position as one of three town council representatives on the Haltwhistle and District Joint Burial Committee.

He will also be asked to undergo a course of training based on the council’s code of conduct.

Coun. Margaret Forrest said: “He should no longer be able to go to the cemetery, telling the lads who work there what they should be doing.”

Coun. Forrest and Coun. Graham Ridley praised the work of Mrs Saunders as clerk, stating she had carried out work to a high standard while under duress.

Chairing the meeting, Coun. Alan Sharp said: “Some of the meetings we have had lately have been very difficult, and a lot of the meetings have been taken over by Coun. Little.”

Coun. Sharp said the town council would seek advice from the local authority to ensure it had the knowledge to deal with conduct-related matters in the future.

Coun. Little was unavailable for comment.