Sloppy bookkeeping, 'missing' goalposts and a clerk who forgot to apply for vital grants but whose salary doubled are at the heart of an £11,000 mystery that has rattled Kingskerswell Parish Council. Rumours had been flying round the village for the past month or so after it became clear that the books would not balance and it was claimed by some that heads would roll when the truth was out. But on Monday evening, former parish clerk Patricia Hartley, revealed the results of her detailed examination of the council's accounts, something she undertook after advice from higher authorities. 'All I can say is that this is a case of complete sloppy bookkeeping and lack of budgetary control,' she said. She said the last clerk, appointed in October 2005 but replaced earlier this year, had failed to apply for grants to which the council was entitled, but that her salary had 'nearly doubled' because of extra hours she had worked. She also said that almost £3,000 of council-owned assets, including goalposts, notice boards and public benches, had been omitted from the records, an error now rectified. She was pleased to report that the current clerk was doing a good job with the books and there was no reason why the annual return could not now be completed and submitted to the district auditor, complete with an apology for the delay. Mrs Hartley received a formal vote of thanks and applause from the public gallery.
