A COUNCILLOR has been criticised after abandoning a skip full of rubbish in his own ward for three months.

Liberal Democrat Coun Abdul Rehman, who represents Corporation Park, left an overflowing skip full of building waste in Irene Place.

Labour councillor and Corporation Park representative John Wright said he was shocked by the behaviour of his colleague, who has since apologised.

Coun Wright said: "At our street surgery we had complaints from residents about rubbish. Several pointed to a skip which had been abandoned for so long it had weeds growing from the top. We were shocked to discover it had actually been dumped there by another councillor."

Labour leader Kate Hollern also criticised Mr Rehman for his actions.

She said: “The Tory/Liberal coalition had already admitted the town is now dirtier due to its cuts to litter pickers. The situation is bad enough without councillors abandoning rubbish in their own wards. This incident underlines Abdul Rehman’s attitude to the residents in Corporation Park.”

But Coun Abdul Rehman expressed his regret and confirmed that the skip was removed on Tuesday. He said: "I had some work done on the entrance to my house and I apologise for the delay in clearing the mess up. Several phone calls over a number of weeks were made to the skip hire company to come and take it away.

"I wouldn't want to cause any problems for anyone in my ward. The skip company left it there for too long and that was completely unacceptable."

The row came after it was revealed budget cutbacks by the council have seen the number of litter pickers in the town slashed by two thirds to just five.