A CODE of conduct hearing has not accepted Ferndown town councillor Cathy Lugg's claims that she was bullied and intimidated by fellow councillor, leader of the independent group Paul Hanson Graham.

Some of the evidence to the panel was redacted, including a name, which Cllr Lugg (Con) says she was called in public and allegedly led to a complaint from a member of the public to the mayor.

The hearing, at County Hall, was told that the some evidence could not be heard because it was hearsay with no means of confirming if it was true.

Dorset Council solicitor Roger Greene said his investigation failed to find any evidence to back Cllr Lugg’s claims of bullying and harassment, although he said it was apparent that some Ferndown town councillors did not like each other and none of them had been given code of conduct training.

Mr Greene said he had found little compliance to standing orders at any of the town council meetings he looked at and, at  times, a lack of strong chairmanship had resulted in disruption to meetings, although he found no evidence of behaviour to support Cllr Lugg’s claims.

Cllr Paul Hanson Graham, leader of the group ‘Independent a Voice for Ferndown Residents’ group, said contrary to the complaint he was the one who was being bullied and intimidated which, he claimed, had led to depression and anxiety.

He denied that he had bullied anyone although he said that he was forthright in making sure his views were heard: “I’m straightforward and like to have my say … and stand up to views which are politically motivated."

He claimed that there had been a long campaign by the Conservative group to silence him.

Cllr John Baxter, appearing for Cllr Hanson Graham, said he could not believe the trivial nature of the complaint which he also claimed was politically motivated.

He told the hearing that personal and political animosity on the council stretched back at least a decade.

"There are two distinct camps. Conservative and non-Conservative,” he said.

Panel chairman Cllr Matt Hall said the panel had found no evidence of a breach of the code of conduct but added that it had 'wider concerns' about Ferndown Town Council which it would raise with the Dorset Council's monitoring officer.