Seat on council could be forfeited (From Gazette Series)

Seat on council could be forfeited

ABSENTEE councillor Bob Eccles has been given until May to attend a council meeting or risk losing his seat at Ebley Mill.

Cllr Eccles, 60, has not attended a meeting since he was convicted of disorderly conduct for filming women in London's Trafalgar Square in September.

And the Labour member, who also has a seat on Gloucestershire County Council, is still recovering from a heart attack he suffered in October.

At a January meeting Stroud district councillors voted to waive the usual requirement for members to attend a meeting every six months to allow for his recovery.

Cllr Eccles will now be expected to attend by the annual meeting on Thursday, May 19 in order to keep the district council post.

Shire Hall also requires councillors to follow the six-month rule, leaving a question mark over Cllr Eccles' county post.

Cllr Eccles was not available for comment.