NEWLY quorate Ferndown Town Council reached deadlock at their first meeting despite vowing to work together.

And an extraordinary meeting will now have to be called to resolve one of the items on the agenda as no further meeting can be called until the issue is sorted out.

Meeting at the town council's offices on Monday, councillors could not reach agreement while trying to elect the members of the finance committee.

The meeting agreed to elect councillor John Muggleton as chairman of planning, Pauline Reynolds as chairman of King George V management committee and to retain Jacqueline Moss as chair of environment.

Queenie Comfort, leader of non-political group Ferndown First, who have the majority of the seats following last month's additional election, said she wanted seven councillors on each of the town council's committees.

Ferndown First had put forward John Muggleton for planning and environment but he also wanted to be on the finance committee.

The town council's rules state that every chairman of the other sub-groups has to sit on the finance committee but that a councillor can be on two committees but not three.

The rule would mean there was not space to add another person to the finance committee.

And this meant asking either of the sitting councillors, Malcolm Birr or Josh Khan, to stand down from finance and join environment to permit Cllr Muggleton to swap.

Cllr Comfort said: "Under the Local Government Housing Act 1989 I have a group.

"I have given notice to form a group.

"That group has the number to allow seven members on each committee."

As the committee could not agree a way forward, mayor Lesley Dedman proposed the item was deferred for further discussion.

The date for this meeting has not yet been set.

During the meeting both Cllr Queenie Comfort and Mayor Lesley Dedman said they wanted to work together.

Cllr Dedman said the meeting was taking place on Saint Hormisdas Day, known in the sixth century as a peacemaker.