HIGHWORTH councillors rejected a bid for grant funding from the town's leisure centre.

Last year, Highworth town councillors unanimously supported providing £115,186.00 to the Halo Highworth Recreation centre until December 2021.

Earlier this month, they decided not to give the facility any more extra cash.

At first, Coun Maureen Penny and Coun Lynn Vardy voted to approve Halo's grant application for £30,000 but not enough councillors agreed with them to carry this motion.

Then, Coun Keith Smith and Coun Ken Saunders put forward a proposal to reject the funding application. This narrowly received enough support to pass, with four votes in favour and three votes against.

Coun Richard Williams is the chairman of Highworth Recreation Centre's trustees and Coun Nick Gardiner is a trustee as well, so both of them had to declare an interest in the agenda item and could not take part in the discussion or the voting.

Coun Williams is the mayor of the town and chaired the rest of the meeting but deputy chairman Coun July Murphy stepped in while he and Coun Gardiner were out of the room.