A FORMER town councillor has revealed the names of the councillors that he says were the reason for his recent resignation from the authority.

Andy Fitchet last week announced his intention to resign from the town council as of 6pm today (Tuesday) due to a small number of councillors who had “decided to make it their job to stop progress at any cost”.

In a recent social media post, and an email shared with the Advertiser, the former councillor confirmed that the “blockers” he was referring to were Councillors David Coole and Christopher Ecclestone.

Andy also hit back at claims from Cllr Ecclestone that his role within the church was the primary reason for his resignation from the town council.

Andy has recently accepted a new role at the Bridge Street and St Andrew’s Methodist churches, prompting Cllr Ecclestone to take to social media and claim, “it is well-known that the position [on the town council] had to be given up to not conflict with his new job.”

Cllr Ecclestone also contacted the Advertiser directly to reaffirm this view, however Andy has since debunked the theory, describing it as “total nonsense”.

He said: “The church and the Methodist Circuit knew I was a councillor when they offered me the role and actively encourage members and ministers to be involved on all aspects of community life, including local politics.

“The reason I have resigned is due to the petty and undermining behaviour of Cllrs David Coole and Ecclestone.”

In response, Cllr Ecclestone dismissed the idea that he had contributed to the "blocking" of anything.

"Give me one example of us having successfully blocked anything." He said.

"What motions has he put forward that we have blocked?"

Cllr Coole has also responded, describing Andy's reasons for resigning as "disconcerting".

He said: "Blaming others to disguise one’s own failures and short comings is an embarrassing and undesirable trait in anyone, more so for a Reverend and a Chair of Budgets and Staffing on the Town Council."

He also echoed Cllr Ecclestone's view that he believes Andy's resignation has "more to do with his religious pursuits," despite the ex-councillor's explanation otherwise.