HOTELIER and tourist information centre director Nigel Way has admitted he was responsible for putting up posters in Dartmouth on polling day in May, calling for people not to vote for Dave Cawley who was seeking re-election to the town council.

Chronicle deputy editor Stuart Nuttall spoke to Mr Way, who is also chairman of Dart­mouth Business Improve­ment District, on Thursday evening last week.

When told we had a witness who claimed he had seen him putting up posters at around 6.30am on polling day, Mr Way said: 'Yes, it was me.' He added: 'It was little bit of fun.'

In a conversation lasting about four minutes, Mr Way later said: 'Yes, it was a silly jape, it was done slightly tongue in cheek.'

Asked whether anyone else was involved, Mr Way at first said he had made the posters, then admitted: 'I found someone to do it.' But he did not name who.

Mr Nuttall suggested to Mr Way there could be calls for his resignation from the boards of the BID and the TIC.

Mr Way, who celebrated his 60th birthday earlier this year, laughed and said: 'Yes, that would be fine. It would really quite suit me.'

A poster put up outside the Guildhall polling station before voting began on election day was spotted by Chronicle reporter Karen Perrow, who took our front page picture.

Mrs Perrow alerted staff in the polling station and Mr Cawley who, coincidentally, was in the Guildhall at the time.

Up to a dozen posters were put up in different locations on May 7, saying 'If you love our Tourist Inform­ation Centre, do not vote for Dave Cawley'.

At the time, the TIC strenuously denied any knowledge of the posters, which also appeared on shop windows, an ice cream kiosk, the town council noticeboard at Royal Avenue Gardens and at Mr Way's Royal Castle Hotel.

Mr Cawley failed to get re-elected after polling 421 votes, some 31 fewer than his nearest rival Gina Coles.

He said at the time that people voting before going to work would have been influenced by the posters which, after a frantic search, were all removed by 9am.

'But the damage had been done,' he said. 'I believe the posters had an effect on the people voting before going to work and that the campaign in the name of the tourist information centre worked.'

South Hams Council's returning officer – who was informed by the Chronicle about the poster outside the town's Clifton ward polling station – decided to allow the election to continue.

The posters followed comments made by Mr Cawley two days before the election, when he accused the TIC of 'reckless spending' over changes to its website which it shares with the BID and has been rebranded Dartmouth Every Time.

The remarks were made at a meeting of the town council's finance committee and were circulated by the Chronicle for a response from the TIC and the BID, of which Mr Cawley has been a fierce critic.

At the time, TIC chairman Angie Cairns-Sharp said: 'Myself, fellow directors and management team know nothing about the posters and wouldn't dream of any such thing.

'As far as we are concerned, it's business as usual for us all, as we continue to welcome our visitors and do the very best for our town.'

And BID manager Alison Steere said: 'We have no knowledge whatsoever of the posters.'

Following a complaint from Mr Cawley, an investigation was launched by South Hams Council. It then issued a statement saying: 'The returning officer, Sophie Hosking, has reviewed the situation and is referring the matter to the police.'

The following week, Devon and Cornwall Police fraud unit manager Neil Blackhurst, of the economic crime unit, serious and organised crime branch, said: 'The matter has been reported to us and we are conducting an investigation.

'We would like to know who put these posters up, so we can speak to them.'

In our edition of Friday, May 22, Mr Cawley said: 'I was interviewed by police on Monday and gave them two pages of notes that I had accumulated over the week.

'The guilty person may be found in five days, five months or five years.

'One day, someone somewhere will accidentally spill the beans. The guilty one knows who they are and possibly several others do too.

'What has heartened me a lot is that many people that I didn't get on with have expressed their sympathy and said what a terribly bad thing had been done in the name of the TIC.'

The Chronicle reported on Friday, June 26, that the police investigation had ended.

Neil Blackhurst, the officer in charge of the investigation, said: 'The person who placed the posters on election day has not been identified.

'No criminal offence has been identified, as previously stated, and no further investigation will take place unless new evidence of a criminal offence comes to light.'

One of those who had been interviewed in the course of police inquiries was former BID manager Francesca Johnson. She described the experience on her Facebook page as 'very surreal yet amusing'.

'Although I think both parties felt "what a waste of police time",' she posted. 'I don't think I need to start baking cakes with files hidden in them just yet...'

Mr Way has been a prominent businessman, sponsor and charity fundraiser in Dartmouth and south Devon for decades.

In 2007, he was made an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours List for 'service to hospitality and tourism in the community'.

He and his wife Anne bought the Royal Castle Hotel in 1983. They also own the Royal Seven Stars Hotel in Totnes and the Luttrell Arms Hotel in Dunster, Somerset.

Mr Way is also listed as a director of tourism organisation Visit South Devon.