A COUNTY councillor is set to be reported to standards chiefs after telling Liberal Democrat supporters that they can ‘rot in Hell’ amid the ongoing row over subsidised bus service cuts.

Cllr Tony Martin, who represents Lancashire’s Burnley Central West division, has been asked to apologise over comments made on the Save Our Bus Service Number 65 Facebook group.

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Rival county councillors have clashed over the threatened withdrawal of several supported bus routes, including the 65 Clifton Farm bus between Burnley, Nelson, Higham and Fence.

And more than 1,500 signed a protest petition marshalled by Burnley Lib Dems, amid claims by their candidate David Roper that the service was a vital link, especially for older residents.

But Cllr Martin posted on their Facebook site: “Yes our Liberal Democrat partners did betray us in saving our most vulnerable elderly for the sake of a few bus routes. May they rot in Hell forever.”

Labour secured the backing of three Independent and one green county councillor to support their budget proposal, which included a £3 million fund to temporarily safeguard some threatened buses, libraries and museums.

Cllr Gordon Birtwistle, leader of Burnley Lib Dems, said: “He must be feeling the pressure, you just cannot say things like this in public life.

“This went out to around 100 of our members, some of whom are elderly, and he’s telling them to rot in Hell. It’s unacceptable and he should apologise.”

He confirmed a complaint would be lodged with the county council’s standards panel if the comment was not withdrawn.

But Cllr Martin, who is cabinet member for adult and community services, was unrepentant last night.

He said: “You’ve got to have a thick skin to be a politician and they should just get on with it.

“I’m much more concerned with the amount of money which we are going to have to cut out of our Supporting People budget to worry about a few buses. “We have taken millions and millions of pounds away from this service for the elderly and it looks like we are going to have to do it again.

“Gordon Birtwistle voted for every one of these cuts to local government when he was an MP and now he doesn’t like the consequences.”