WILTSHIRE Councillor Chuck Berry has apologised profusely after acting aggressively towards officials when they would not allow him access to the A3102 which had been closed because of a fatal collision.

The A3102 Calne bypass was closed between 6am and 10.30am on Tuesday where a 25-year-old motorcyclist had died after coming off his Yamaha motorbike.

Coun Berry, Wiltshire Councillor for Minety, approached the scene at around 10am to try and get to Healthmatic Ltd, on the Redman Road, where he is the managing director.

He was denied access and told to take a different route which he took offence to.

The police were called to the scene and arrived with 10 minutes to issue Coun Berry with a caution.

Traffic management officer Stuart Gibbon, a subcontractor for Balfour Beatty, said that when Coun Berry was told that he couldn’t drive through he became aggressive.

He said: “I’ve never been spoken to like that before. You don’t expect that from a councillor.

“I told him the seriousness of the matter; he then mounted the kerb and drove towards me.

“He was flashing his council badge at us and started swearing.”

Coun Berry denies that he swore at the traffic management officers but says that he deeply regrets his behaviour.

He said: “I don’t think it I swore because that is not something that I would usually do, I’m not an aggressive person.

“I was just having a bad day. My behaviour was ridiculous and I have rang the Highways department at Balfour Beatty to express my sincere apology.

“The people at Balfour Beatty did absolutely the right thing in not letting me through, they have difficult job as it is without having some stupid member of the public like me acting the way I did.

“As a councillor I feel that I have a responsibility to look at a situation like this and sometimes when it is not so serious we are able to look at the scene and it sometimes helps.

“As soon as I found out that somebody had died I felt terrible and I’m so sorry for the individual involved who lost his life and for his family.”