A FOURTH councillor has resigned from Ribble Valley Council’s Tory group.

Whalley’s Cllr Joyce Holgate has joined the new rebel Democratic Conservatives.

Earlier this month former council deputy leaders Cllrs Terry Hill and Paul Elms and chairman of the Ribble Valley Community Safety Partnership Cllr Robert Thompson quit from the group.

Cllr Holgate told the council’s leader Cllr Ken Hind in her resignation letter: “I can not support your style of leadership.

“You won the recent election by the narrowest of margins, but you have done nothing to try to unite the group since. Cllr Hill and I will continue to work for the residents of Whalley.”

Cllr Hind said: “I have no comment to make.”