A TOWN council is still looking to pursue legal action against its under-fire Mayor for nearly £5,000, which councillors fear may have been ‘misappropriated’.

Carterton Town Council passed a vote of no confidence in Councillor Lynn Little in January and she will be replaced later this year.

But at a meeting on Tuesday, the council’s clerk Ron Spurs told members that correspondence from Mrs Little’s solicitor showed she had ‘no intention to pay’ £4,835 it has demanded is given back.

The money is understood to have gone to pay for thousands of pounds of donations towards a veterans’ home, which is not registered with the Charity Commission.

Other money taken from the council’s ‘Mayor’s Allowance Account’ is said to have been used to pay for tickets for a St George’s Day dinner and other civic events.

Mr Spurs read a letter which he intended to send to Mrs Little’s solicitor following the meeting.

He said: “The council has agreed to pursue the claims through the courts if necessary.

“[Mrs Little] has never provided any evidence to support the public statements regarding payments from the account despite being asked to discuss the matter on several occasions.”

The council had been wholly run by Conservative councillors but in an extraordinary twist, Mrs Little announced she and several supporters had quit the party.

Mrs Little said she had resigned her Conservative membership, along with town councillors Chris Delaney, John Hayes, Carol Wilson, Dee Bulley, Phil Scott and Sarah Scott.

She added two other Conservative members had also left the party because of recent events.

Letters indicating their resignation were sent to the West Oxfordshire Conservative Association, the Prime Minister Theresa May and Witney Conservative MP Robert Courts, Mrs Little said.

She said: “Since Carterton Town Council has engaged solicitors to make a claim against me, it has provided no evidence to substantiate their claim at this moment in time.”

She added: “I look forward to a swift conclusion of the matter, whereby Carterton Town Council withdraws its claim, which is the most sensible option.”

By the time she steps down as Mayor next month, she will have served in the role for five years. She will be replaced by Martin McBride.