A ROW has erupted between political parties on Westhoughton Town Council.

Independent and Labour members say they are angry that their Liberal Democrat counterparts have repeatedly failed to attend meetings.

There have been 19 town council meetings over the past seven months. The six Lib-Dem town councillors have a total of 26 attendances between them, while the five Labour members and one Independent have totalled 102.

Council leader and Labour member, Cllr Jim Gilfillan, has missed just one meeting. He said: "I'm sick of making apologies to members of the public for the Lib-Dems' absence."

Councillors say that they have had to by-pass agenda items because not enough have been present to make decisions.

The council chamber, on Market Street, Westhoughton, has been consumed by disputes for more than a year. Lib-Dem councillor David Wilkinson, who has attended just seven of the town council meetings, defended the party's attendance record. He said: "Westhoughton Town Council is an organisation that has little or no credibility. They make invalid remarks and make some terrible decisions. We will continue to deal with the business of Westhoughton as councillors."