KINGSWEAR Parish Council has been advised to rethink the content of a letter it was hoping would calm a vicious dispute engulfing the village.

It follows a petition signed by 33 residents attacking the integrity of Cllrs Liz Essex, Jan Henshall and Lucy Payne.

The document accuses them of acting in their own interests and requests they no longer vote on issues until a parish poll for their council seats is carried out.

The letter, drafted by the trio, is calling for the signatories to supply evidence of the ­allegations or withdraw them by sending an apology for the upset and stress caused.

But Lesley Smith, senior manager at the Devon Association of Local Councils, has suggested that the parish council should take a less threatening approach to resolve the situation.

Parish clerk Rob Barber had sought her advice on any legal implications that might arise if the council sent the letter.

In a reply email, Ms Smith said the letter seemed to be a very personal one from the ­people named in the petition and not one that a council as a corporate body would write.

In particular, the mention of withdrawal of legal action by a particular councillor, Cllr Essex, was not within the gift of the council, but was a decision that would be taken by that person, she pointed out.

She said she believed a letter from the council would be useful, but that it should be far less personal and less threatening.

‘It all sounds very strident, not calming,’ she said, adding that the parish council was not the appropriate authority to investigate claims of contraventions of the code of conduct and that any such complaints should be addressed to the monitoring officer of the district council and be substantiated.

Unsubstantiated statements could not be investigated or acted on.

She said other statements in the petition could not be applied purely to the named councillors. For instance, uncontested elections were an issue for the whole community, not just those who have come forward as councillors.

‘I’m suggesting you go back to the drawing board,’ she said.