AN EX-COUNCILLOR has spoken publicly for the first time since he resigned following allegations that he sent lewd messages to a vulnerable woman.

Trevor License is claimed to have sent the messages to a woman who asked for housing help on May 3, the day after he was voted in.

He resigned as a Witney town councillor for Witney North on Tuesday and said he had apologised to 'everyone for being a weak-willed old man'.

Read also: Councillor 'sent sexual messages' to vulnerable woman

Mr License said: "Politics, even at a local level, has become an excuse for people to vent their anger at individuals who are working hard for a better society. This is Witney not Westminster.

"There comes a point when the sacrifice of time and effort of being a councillor is far outweighed by the damage it does to your relationships.

"For that reason alone, I have decided to stand down as I am now 57 and do not have the will to put my family through this kind of abuse again."

Council leader, Rosa Bolger, has pledged to start a 'proper investigation' into the messages, which could have breached several sections of the council's code of conduct.