A COUNCILLOR has resigned from a council's Labour group in frustration - just months after being elected.

The move has resulted in the party's grip on power at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council being loosened as they only hold 28 of the authority's 59 seats.

However, Billy Wells feels he was left with little option but to leave the group as he wanted to work for the community who elected him and not take part in party 'posturing'.

Cllr Wells, who represents the Newcomen ward, was elected for the first time in May and said he was full of hope and inspiration to help the people he represented.

"On a personal level I am still a Labour supporter," he said. "But the Labour group at the council is not to my liking. It is not what I understood a Labour councillor to be about. I wanted to deal with local issues that the people who voted for me wanted me to deal with.

"I was raising issues that residents wanted me to, but I wasn't able to get anywhere. I was hoping that as an elected councillor I would be able to improve things in the area that I represent.

"I told the leadership early on that I felt some of the newer members were being alienated, but nothing seemed to change. I'm more about doing things at a local level rather than talking about national issues.

"I'm about action and doing things for my community - not just posturing. I have decided the best way to improve things is to stand as an Independent."

Council leader Mrs Jeffrey said she was disappointed with his decision, but insisted it would make no difference to the leadership of the authority and its administration.

She said: "We have been informed by Councillor Billy Wells that he has resigned from the Labour Party. This means he is no longer a member of the Labour Group on the council.

"Obviously, that is a decision for him, although it is unlikely to be welcomed either by the residents of Newcomen who thought they were electing a Labour Councillor or by Redcar Labour Party members who worked really hard to help him get elected in May's contest.

"In terms of the council position, Labour has been governing since May as a minority administration and this resignation does not change that position. We will carry on being inclusive in the way that we operate, ensuring that all members are fully involved in the work of the Council, including opposition members chairing Scrutiny Committees.

"It has been really good that the majority of decisions made in the Council Chamber have been agreed by consensus meaning that all councillors have been united on key issues like the crisis at (steelmaker) SSI and I hope that this way of working will continue."