Elderly parish councillors ‘bloodied and bruised after bust-up at meeting’

A brawl between Councillor Darling and Councillor Pease was described as a ‘wrestling match’

A community centre in north-east England played host to an unlikely clash of titans after a parish council spat turned physical.

Locals who gathered to hear developments at Middleton St George Parish were instead treated to a ‘wrestling match’ between two officials in their 70s: Darlington borough councillor Colin Pease versus parish councillor David Darling.

That’s how the scuffle was described in a new report on the incident, which happened last May and is the subject of an upcoming standards hearing.

It said Cllr Darling, chairman and treasurer of the community centre, repeatedly spoke to Cllr Pease ‘in a raised voice and provoking manner’ while asking questions.

Cllr Pease then called Cllr Darling a ‘prat’ and tried to leave the room, according to Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Cllr Darling then allegedly ‘shut the door with force’ and snared Pease with a ‘rugby-type tackle’.

One councillor likened what ensued as a ‘wrestling match’.

Councillor Pease called his rival a ‘prat’, according to a report

Cllr Darling allegedly grabbed hold of Cllr Pease’s neck

‘Cllr Pease had scratches and blood on his face and arm area, and his glasses were broken during the incident’, the report says.

‘Cllr Darling had a slightly red face and a bruised finger.’

The report says there is a ‘dispute in regard to who initiated the physical altercation’ but added that Cllr Pease ‘failed to treat Cllr Darling with respect’.

The investigator said it appeared Cllr Darling had started the fight ‘by grabbing hold of Cllr Pease’s neck’, while Cllr Pease ‘acted in reasonable and proportionate self-defence’.

Darlington’s member standards hearing committee is set to convene on Monday to decide whether the councillors breached their code of conduct.

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