Candidate who stood against Wiltshire Councillor John Knight have hit out at his decision to defect from the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives just six weeks after the election.

Cllr Knight represents Trowbridge Central on Wiltshire Council and Trowbridge Town Council and has served as a Lib Dem councillor for four years.

Shaun Henley, who stood for Labour in Trowbridge Central and Trowbridge Town Council, said: “It just seems very underhand.

"To move political parties within six weeks must have been an epiphany of mega proportions. He stopped a bona fide Lib Dem from standing for the ward and a Conservative was denied a seat.”

Trowbridge mayor David Halik, the Conservative candidate who ran for election alongside Cllr Knight, said: “John Knight has done lots for the community and tries to do as much as he can.

“I have to leave it to John to answer personally."

Cllr Knight was on Wiltshire Council’s western area planning committee, strategic planning committee and health select committee but was dropped from the latter two at a meeting on May 11.

He said: “If I was given reasons why my role was reduced I would have swallowed it but I wasn’t.

“I have a good reputation as a councillor and I feel I was being somewhat sidelined. This is nothing to do with the town council and I have explained the reasons behind my decision to them.”

Cllr John Hubbard, leader of Wiltshire Council’s Lib Dem team, said following the election the party had to redistribute its committee places.

“We had 27 members to give out places to whereas previously we had only 20,” he said.