A FORMER Mayor of Burnley has been convicted of hitting his wife of 42 years in a row over his step-daughter's new bike before threatening to cut the cycle in half with a 'chain-saw'.

Cllr David Heginbotham, 75, had denied assaulting his wife Joan, who served as his mayoress in 2011-12, after she had tried to intervene in a furious confrontation with her daughter Michelle Lord.

The veteran Cliviger and Worsthorne representative was alleged to have punched Miss Lord full in the face and then slapped Mrs Heginbotham when she stepped into the fray, Burnley Magistrates Court heard.

And when the councillor was led away in handcuffs from his Park Road home in Cliviger by police later, he kept up a tirade of abuse at his step-daughter, who he blamed for the whole episode.

District Judge Adam Moran said: "One might have expected that anyone, particularly someone who represents the town and has been a mayor, by the time the police arrived would come to their senses and rein in their feelings.

"But we have heard from the statement of Pc Darren Davis that you carried on with the foulest abuse that you can imagine."

Heginbotham, now of no fixed address, was found guilty of assaulting both Mrs Heginbotham and Miss Lord after a three-hour hearing. He was also convicted of driving with excess alcohol after police smelled alcohol on his breath following the incident.

Harry East, prosecuting, said the defendant had been out for meal with his sons at The Glen pub, Todmorden and had returned home at around 10.40pm. His wife let him in as he had forgotten his keys.

An argument quickly developed between the councillor and Miss Lord, with him demanding to know how a new bike, which he claimed cost £3,500, had been left in his garage.

Mr East said the defendant was going towards the garage when Miss Lord tried to intercept him, and he responded by punching her in the face. She responded by slapping him in the face and trying to hit him with a soap dish.

His wife, who heard the commotion from the lounge and came into the kitchen, was also slapped in the face and her husband grabbed her by the wrist, the court heard.

Heginbotham and his step-daughter ended up in the garage, where he is said to have picked up a 'chain-saw' and threatened to break up the bike, said Mr East.

Giving evidence, Miss Lord said: "He kept asking me about the bike, whose bike it was and that he didn't want the 'effing' bike in his garage and he was going to do something about it."

Later Mrs Heginbotham, reacting to the moment she was struck, said: "I was just so shocked that David had hit me because I hadn't done anything wrong."

And she told the court she was 'terrified' when her husband picked up the 'chain-saw', while her daughter tried to shield her bike, but failed to get it started properly.

Cross-examined by defence solicitor Mark Williams about whether he may have 'over-reacted', Heginbotham said: "I have supported Michelle for 40 years. How long was it going to go on for? She is 50 now.

"How long did I have to go on looking after someone who makes little or no contribution to the house?"

He insisted his step-daughter had paid little or no board over the previous three-and-a-half years and had bought a new £17,500 car in September 2014. The arrival of the £3,500 bike had been the 'final straw', he said.

He told the court that when he went to remove the bike from the garage, Miss Lord had kicked him and began hitting him repeatedly. He accepted he had slapped her in self-defence. He also said he had never brandished a 'chainsaw' - which he insisted was in fact a hedge-trimmer.

And when his wife had tried to intervene he had accidentally slapped her, when his step-daughter moved away, which had left him mortified.

The councillor was fined £1,200 and ordered to pay £620 with a £520 criminal courts charge and a £120 victim surcharge following the incident in July. He was also banned from driving for 12 months.

District Judge Moran also imposed a restraining order, preventing the defendant from having any contact with the victims for 12 months.

A Burnley Council spokesman said that Cllr Heginbotham's conviction and sentence would not prevent him from serving as ward member for Cliviger and Worsthorne. Councillors are only restricted from office if they receive three-month prison terms or longer.