A FORMER Hyndburn Labour councillor Claims "civil war" in the local Labour Party has forced him to defect to the Conservatives.

Dennis Baron, 44, of Ribble Avenue, Great Harwood, has said he will stand for the Tories against Labour in the Netherton ward of his home town in May's local elections.

He said: "They constantly rip each other apart and cause mayhem in the ranks."

Labour group leader David Myles today rubbished the claims of division in the local party.

He said Mr Baron's defection was "sour grapes" after failing to be selected to stand for the Labour party in the up and coming elections. Coun Myles said: "He put himself up for selection for Labour but wasn't chosen by local members to stand.

"I am disappointed that he has decided to go down this route, because he had been a member for a long time.

"He is not standing for any sort of principles, he's standing for the sake of his own ego.

"The suggestion that there are divisions in the Labour group is absolute nonsense.

"We know who the leader is, there is no problem there."

Mr Baron, who had been a member of the Labour Party for 22 years and served as a councillor in Hyndburn for ten years, added: "Labour cannot run its own party how could it possibly run Hyndburn?"

Welcoming Mr Baron, a funeral director, the Conservative group, council leader, Coun Peter Britcliffe, said: "It is a very brave step."