A HIGHWORTH councillor quitting politics through an unusually drawn-out process has had mixed reactions from the town.

His former colleagues were "disappointed" when Charles Adams decided to have his position as councillor terminated by missing meetings for six months, but thanked him for his years of hard work and wished him well.

The Adver spoke to a few Highworth residents about the matter, and some of their thoughts weren’t quite as kind as those expressed by the council.

Fran Forty said: “It’s not brilliant, they need to let people know, you need them to have a voice in these meetings, you can’t just disappear for six months.”

Mick, 58, who asked to be identified only by his first name, said: “If you don’t want to come to work, just pack it in and resign. He should have let someone else come in and do what the people of Highworth want. They should change that six-month rule.”

Paul, 65, who also asked to be identified only by his first name, said: “I think it’s terrible, they should be more open with the reasons behind it, it’s not right. If he wanted to quit, he should have just done it instead of missing so many meetings.”

The council's letter of termination to Mr Adams said that over the years he had formed a great knowledge of how town and parish councils work, and had a lot of respect for the system.

It went on to say that he was a very valuable member of the council when he was there, and was very honourable for waiting for the right time to leave without triggering a by-election, so as not to cause the people of Highworth extra expense, because he cared about the town.

Leaving the council in this way is rare - it's only once before in Highworth during the last 20 years. A by-election would have cost £4,000 for the town council to hold but there's not enough time to call one before May. Charles joined Highworth Town Council in 1986 alongside his wife, Pam, who still serves on the council. He served as mayor from 1990 to 1991. The Advertiser approached Mr Adams for comment repeatedly. Despite agreeing to talk, he did not respond to subsequent calls.