Cleveleys councillor under council investigation for Facebook comment made during antisocial behaviour discussion

Jubilee ward councillor David Walmsley, 76, sparked a council investigation with a comment he made in response to alleged antisocial behaviour by teens in Anchorsholme.

In a Facebook thread discussing smashed glass on the football pitches at Anchorsholme Park, which the poster said was done by "teenagers," Coun Walmsley replied: "Club them."

Wyre Council has since launched an investigation into Coun Walmsley's comment, which it said was an "alleged breach of the code of conduct."

He said since making the comment he has also been suspended from using Facebook by the social media platform, but has received an outpouring of support from residents.

Jane Littlewood, founder of Care for Cleveleys, said she and the rest of the team were supporting Coun Walmsley as "critically, he didn't make the post in any official capacity as a councillor."

Coun Walmsley said: "My temporary suspension from Facebook has yet to expire so a big thank you to all those people who have supported me during this ‘clubbing’ hiatus. It has been very much appreciated.

"In my previous life I was awarded two commendations from the police for supporting officers in ‘difficult’ situations and like everyone else in Cleveleys and Anchorsholme I have zero tolerance for knife carrying thuggery and criminal damage.

"Indeed, I have literally lost count of the times I have attended Fleetwood police station this year to report criminal damage to property here in Cleveleys. I am not in the business of threatening anyone, although I’m no different from other people in that self-defence is my constitutional right under the Criminal Law Act 1967. This is my personal view as a citizen of this country and has nothing to do with my Council duties."

A spokesman for Wyre Council added: "We can confirm that we have launched an investigation into the alleged breach of the code of conduct in accordance with our Councillor’s code of conduct policy."