Coun Steve Webster told the meeting he had 'reluctantly' accepted Town Clerk Ruth Dawson's letter of resignation but understood her reasons as 'her job has become untenable by the accusations and in-fighting between councillors and ex-councillors'.


"I personally thank Ruth for the sterling work she has done," he said. "She has worked tirelessly to make this council a 'Quality Council', she studied hard for the appropriate qualification and encouraged councillors to become more 'Quality Council' minded.


"However, recently the constant conflicts ...have been increasingly putting her in a very difficult position and under a lot of stress.


"There have also been occasions when she has felt her authority has been undermined by some and, worse, her integrity has been put into question on more than one occasion (which) she found damaging to her reputation."


Mrs Dawson, who has been part time Town Clerk for eight and a half years, said she was extending her working hours at her other employment, which were less anti-social, and would leave her position at the end of August.


Coun Webster, who was only elected to his second year as chairman and Mayor last month, went on to say that on the day he had received her resignation, he had already made the decision to step down at the end of July after 25 years as a councillor.


"I have never felt so intimidated and helpless to continue," he told the meeting.


He said he had been personally threatened by a councillor with the Standards Board and the council itself had been threatened with a review by the District Auditor and the Standards Board, all by fellow councillors on the Town Council.


"How can we work together in this atmosphere of intimidation?" he said. "When will councillors and ex-councillors learn the route to positive government is not through threats and running to the Standards Board at every disagreement?"


Coun Webster said he had thought the council was making progress towards the end of his first year of office but, after a protest at the Annual Town Meeting which he said had allegedly been orchestrated by certain ex-councillors, 'there has been a downward spiral which has obviously affected my decision as well as Ruth's."


Coun Webster said he was also 'embarrassed' by the 'unfair criticism and sometimes downright rudeness by some councillors to visiting (council) officers', and failed to understand why some councillors were 'maligning' the Caistor Development Partnership, which had successfully obtained £2.6 million in funding for the town.


"I cannot see an end to the personal vendettas the council has been dragged into and it is completely devastating for me to see all the hard work of previous chairmen and councillors being undone by a group of individuals, who I fail to see have the good of Caistor as their main priority," he added.


The council is due to meet on Friday June 19 to elect a new chairman.