Two local Lib Dems have been branded a disgrace and asked to resign after laughing at a well loved grandfather. The duo were accused of a vicious attack on a defenceless old man and of ridiculing him public. Friends and family have asked for them to be disciplined and thrown out of the council chamber.

One senior Labour Party figure told us: "He was just a harmless old man, who never did anyone wrong and he was responsible for bringing a lot of laughter and joy into our lives with his bumbling antics and his funny voice. To laugh at him like that after all those years of bringing a smile to people's faces is a disgrace."

Councillors Warren Swaine and Daisy Benson were however unrepentant: "Look, we went to the Hexagon to see Russell Brand and he did a bit in his show about Andrew Sachs. It was funny, we laughed, we make no apology for that. Some people really have no sense of humour."