Dartmouth mayor Paul Allen is now subject to a formal investigation into allegations he bullied the town clerk during a council meeting last month.

An investigation officer is being appointed whose job will be to question Cllr Allen and anyone else involved – including fellow councillor and deputy mayor Dave Cawley, who made the accusation in the first place.

Cllr Allen, who has just started his second term as mayor, refused to say anything about the investigation saying: 'That is private and confidential and I can't pass any comment.'

Town clerk Chris Horan, who it is claimed Cllr Allen bullied as he refused to allow him to speak during a town council meeting, also said he could not make any comment.

Cllr Cawley said: 'I think it is quite right that it should be investigated.

'It is not acceptable for the mayor to bully the clerk at any time let alone at a public meeting.'

The allegation against Cllr Allen is that he refused to allow Mr Horan to give a financial report as the town council made its decision to accept a Dartmouth Swimming Pool Trust business plan for the £2.4m swimming pool it aims to build at Townstal next to the town's leisure centre.

That agreement finalised a previous council decision to hand over £150,000 of taxpayers cash toward the cost of building the pool and pledged another £10,000 a year for the next 10 years to cover any losses it might make.

Cllr Cawley's complaint to South Hams Council's monitoring officer alleged that Cllr Allen had breached the council code of conduct by behaving in an 'angry, intimidating, bullying and threatening manner towards the town clerk thereby bringing his office or authority into disrepute'.

The council's standards (assessment) sub committee took an initial look at the complaint, identified possible breaches of the code of conduct and has now decided to refer it to the monitoring officer for investigation – which could result in a possible public hearing.

Earlier – and separate – complaints by Cllr Cawley against both Cllr Allen and Cllr Roger Chilcott over Cllr Cawley's position on the Dartmouth traffic and transport group have also been looked at by the standards assessment group and a decision made not to proceed to an investigation stage.

In an email to Cllr Cawley, from the monitoring officer's office on the bullying allegation, it was explained what happens next.

The email said: 'The deputy monitoring officer will ask someone to carry out an investigation of this complaint on her behalf.

'The investigator will interview the complainant and the subject member and anyone else he or she thinks can assist in establishing the facts.

'He or she will prepare a report for consideration of which the standards committee will decide whether there has been a breach of the code.

'If they decide that there has been the subject member is entitled to put his side of the case to the committee at an oral hearing at a later date.'