COMPLAINTS about a Welshpool Town Councillor have been passed on to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

Cllr Heather Chave has already been given a written warning by Welshpool Town Council following “strongly worded” Facebook posts criticising fox hunting.

The matter has now been forwarded to the Ombudsman, Nick Bennett.

Mr Bennett has legal powers to look into complaints about public services and independent care providers in Wales.

He can also look into complaints that local authority members have broken their authority’s code of conduct.

Mr Bennett’s office is “assessing” whether to investigate the complaint.

This followed Cllr Chave’s participation, along with another town councillor, Cllr Nicola Morris, at a protest against the Boxing Day Hunt meeting in Welshpool.

The council had received a number of letters of complaint and support about their participation in the demonstration.

Cllr Heather Chave said that she was not allowed to say anything on the matter which had been passed on to the Ombudsman.

She confirmed that the complaints passed on to the Ombudsman were about three Facebook posts in which she swore.

Welshpool Town Clerk, Robert Robinson, said that the issue had been passed on to the Ombudsman as part of the “complaints process”.

Earlier this month at the town council meeting it was also confirmed that town councillors are bound by the Code of Conduct, all of the time.

Both Cllrs Chave and Morris were right to act according to their political beliefs in their own name and were not protesting officially on behalf of the town council.

Mr Robinson said: “The council considered that the Code of Conduct had been breached with regard to the Facebook posts.”

A spokesperson for the Ombudsman said: “I can confirm that the Ombudsman has received a complaint that Cllr Heather Chave has breached her authority’s code of conduct. The complaint is being assessed.” and a decision will be made whether to investigate.”