Councillor under fire for 'rude' car sticker

A councillor has come under fire after putting a sticker on his car saying that the town he represents is full of "a***holes".

Weston-super-Mare Conservative councillor Peter Bryant, an executive member for transport and community services, has a sticker on the back of his blue P-reg Mitsubishi pick up which says "For a small town, this one sure has a lot of a***holes".

Mr Bryant, who represents Clarence and Uphill ward, has been a councillor for 23 years, and picks up allowances of about £23,000 a year for his work on the council.

A fellow Weston councillor has described the sticker as "inappropriate", but Mr Bryant has defended it as a joke.

Mr Bryant said: "It's just a bit of fun – a joke. I don't see a problem with it being there.

"It's not meant to upset or offend anyone in Weston.

"My cousin gave it to me when I was visiting the States last year and it has been on my car for about a year.

"Not one person has commented on it and no one has asked me to remove it.

"I guess whether I have offended anyone or not will be decided by voters at the next election."

But others have taken a more dim view of the sticker, saying a leading councillor in the town should not be displaying a sign which could be deemed offensive to the very people who elected him.

A fellow Tory councillor, who did not want to be named, said: "It's not the sort of thing that councillors should really be putting on their cars.

"It has been noticed by some of the other members in the council car park, but I am not sure anyone has said anything.

"I do not feel it is appropriate for a sticker of this kind to be on a councillor's car, especially one who is an executive member.

"It really is not the way of describing the people who elected you."

This is not the first time outspoken Mr Bryant has hit the headlines.

Last year he ran into trouble during a heated debate in the council chamber, and was told to crawl back into the gutter by former Tory councillor Mike Roe after he criticised his attendance at meetings.

He also came under the spotlight after it was revealed he was close friends with a candidate selected to a special panel set up to review councillors' allowances.

Mr Bryant was reported to the Standards Board, who decided he had no case to answer.

North Somerset Council launched its own investigation following the allegation, which showed the selection process for the panel was "robust and in line with legal requirements".