DAGGERS were drawn at a bad tempered Teignbridge Council meeting this week with a string of accusations flying across the chamber.

Monday morning blues were quickly apparent as several disgruntled district members aired their grievances at the start of a full council slanging match.

A thick red mist descended on the authority’s Forde House headquarters with toys being thrown out of the pram left, right and centre.

First into the fray was angry Ros Prowse who lashed out at a whistleblowing colleague for criticising the authority’s monitoring officer Justin Price-Jones.

She was furious that the anonymous councillor had told the Mid-Devon Advertiser Mr

Price-Jones hadn’t been legally appointed to the job.

‘I am ashamed to think that councillor is sitting here and would go to the newspaper, but not put their name to it,’ she thundered.

The Dawlish member complained: ‘I am very sorry that I work with someone like that.

‘I was shocked to find the status

of our monitoring officer had been questioned when I opened the paper.’

But Cllr Alan Connett retorted that Teignbridge’s lack of openness and transparency could have sparked the whistleblower’s decision to go to the press.

He questioned decisions made by officers to regularly talk about certain topics behind closed doors, stopping members of the public from finding out details.

‘I am fed up with the secrecy at Teignbridge. Let’s work together to be more open and transparent,’ he pleaded.

But just as the dust settled after the first wave of brickbats another tantrum erupted.

Senior member Humphrey Clemens accused Cllr Connett of lacking honesty and integrity after sending ‘very misleading’ information to media outlets.

A fuming Cllr Connett jumped up and immediately demanded his political opponent withdrew his allegations.

He also pushed for an apology.

Cllr Connett insisted on an official complaint being lodged against Cllr Clemens unless he issued an apology.

Cllr Clemens, who reckoned Cllr Connett had ‘jumped on his high horse’, reluctantly apologised after being ordered by the authority’s chairman Avril Kerswell to do so.

After the meeting one flabbergasted councillor said it was just like being in a school playground.