A FORMER mayor has been banned from speaking at meetings of the council he used to preside over.

Mike Thorp is an ex-member of Lymington and Pennington Town Council and is one of its most outspoken critics.

He attends almost every meeting of the authority, often getting involved in heated rows with members.

Now the Tory-controlled authority has carried out its threat to ban him from speaking at meetings for a year.

Town clerk Steve Cridland said: “Mr Thorp has abused his position by making personal attacks on councillors and council officers.

“We can’t ban him from meetings but we can invoke the rules relating to public participation periods.

“If he refuses to comply we will call the police and ask them to remove him from the council chamber.”

Last night Mr Thorp claimed the council’s decision was unlawful and said he would try to speak at future meetings.