'Voters should have been told Swindon councillor attacked mother'

Liberal Democrat candidate Adam Poole was elected to the vacant Wroughton and Wichelstowe seat on Swindon Borough Council on May 4, defeating Conservative Gayle Cook by just 20 votes.

That made him the only Lib Dem of the 57 members in the council chamber.

But one constituent who voted for Coun Poole, Mike Bowden, who lives in Wroughton, said he would not have had he known about a previous conviction for violence.

Adam Poole pictured in 1987 (Image: Swindon Advertiser archive)

Adver archives show in June 1988, nearly 35 years ago, Coun Poole was convicted of assault causing actual bodily harm to his mother, and was fined £120 by Wootton Bassett Magistrates.

At the time, Coun Poole was a Conservative councillor for Wroughton on Thamesdown Borough Council, one of the precursors of the current Swindon Borough Council.

The conviction neither disqualified Coun Poole from sitting as a councillor at the time, or standing for election earlier this month.

Mr Bowden, a retired solicitor who works at the charity Phoenix Enterprises, said: “I was pleased when he won the seat.

“But I was then contacted by some residents in Wroughton who remember his conviction. I wouldn’t have voted for him if I’d known about it.”

Mr Bowden continued: “Some people might say he shouldn’t have stood. I don’t think that’s the case, I think he should be allowed to stand.

“But in the interests of transparency and making sure voters made an informed choice, I do think it should have been made known to the public.”

At the trial Mr Poole, then 22, denied the offence, saying he acted in self-defence.

But the court had heard how Poole ‘went’ for his 56-year-old mum when she refused to give him money.

It was reported he had grabbed her, shook her violently and hit her.

She fled the house fearing for her life and later came back to find a threatening note and her bedroom trashed. 

How the Adver reported Adam Poole's court case on June 15, 1988 (Image: Newsquest)

Coun Poole now lives with, and cares for, his elderly mother. 

He said: “This relates to something that happened 35 years ago at a time of great distress and stress within my family as a result of a close relative being very gravely ill.

“It was found that I had gone a little too far in attempting to defend myself, something which was reflected in the small nature of the fine imposed. I was young and foolish at the time and very much regret what happened. I have never been in such trouble since.

“The whole incident caused considerable distress within my family at the time but was resolved amicably within a few months and we moved on and put it behind us decades ago.

“Raising this issue after so long has once again caused considerable distress within my family, not least to my 91-year-old mother, which is most concerning given her age and health.

"All we want to do is get on with our lives, providing care for and protecting my mother to the best of our ability.”