A RECENTLY-elected councillor could find himself involved in hot water with Thurrock Council's standards team after becoming embroiled in an online exchange of views that saw him issue foul-mouthed abuse.

Conservative Adam Carter was a surprise winner of the Labour stronghold of Chadwell St Mary ward in May's elections and he has been keen to raise and maintain his local profile through social media.

Already he has angered some residents by allegedly appearing to claim credit for changes in the ward that he has not instigated – but he continues to seek to stay in the limelight.

His latest posting followed a serious injury to a Chadwell resident who had to have part of her arm amputated after a fall caused by a trip hazard on local paving.

The story featured on Thurrock Nub News last week after the husband of the victim, Kiley Lay fell and was rushed to hospital, where she underwent major and life-changing surgery and had to spend a lengthy time in hospital.

In the wake of the fall her husband Rob and local resident Mathew Beadle worked together to try and bring about repairs to the damaged pavements around the Lytton Road area of Chadwell. Mr Beadle set up a petition calling upon the council to act.

Both the Lay family and Mr Beadle were then upset to see Cllr Carter claiming credit for their campaign, posting that he had reported all the damaged pavements around Lytton Road months earlier.

Mr Beadle said: "It's appalling that Cllr Carter has taken credit for a petition that I created on behalf of the Lay family, following Kiley's awful accident.

"I'm aware that Cllr Carter put in a request, but he hasn't done much more.

"He should have thanked and supported myself and Rob for setting up the petition, rather than claiming credit for the campaign."

Mr Lay said: "I just wanted the pathway made safe for others to use, so no-one has to go through what my wife has gone through. Although she is now home after major surgeries, she has months of painful rehabilitation to go through.

"Instead of following up after Kiley's accident to make sure that she was ok, and to reassure me that the path would be fixed, Cllr Carter has stepped in to try to take credit for our campaign.

"When I called him out on that, he launched into a very nasty attack on me over social media."

Thurrock Nub News has seen many of the comments exchanged on the issue on social media and Cllr Carter's increasingly antagonistic comments to Mr Lay and then to others who joined the debate.

That included Cllr Carter telling one poster to 'F*** Off.'

Labour ward councillor Sara Muldowney says Mr Carter's attempts to hog the spotlight over the pavement repairs are not unique and he has tried to take undeserved plaudits for actions in the town. She has also now posted pictures of the repairs being carried out last week, contrary to Cllr Carter's previous statement that the council could not afford to carry them out until next year.

She says: "This is not the first time that Cllr Carter has tried to take the credit for a campaign led by Lytton Road residents. He also claimed to be responsible for stopping the plan to build 120 homes on a nearby field.

"The local resident who led the petition, which prompted the developers to withdraw their application, said she felt like she'd been kicked in the teeth when she saw Cllr Carter's flyer claiming the credit.

"The backing of the change.org petition by a Conservative councillor also raises the question of why another change.org petition to save the Thameside Theatre was rejected. This petition would have met the threshold to trigger a debate at full council on the future of the Thameside Theatre, but the Conservative run council has refused to allow it.

"What is the difference between these two petitions? It seems like it's fine for the Conservatives to back a change.org petition when they are trying to claim the credit for other people's work, but not okay when it's going to trigger a debate on an issue they don't want to discuss.

"I share the view of one commentator on social media who described Cllr Carter and his colleagues as 'what a bunch of hypocrites'."

Thurrock Nub News understands formal complaints have been lodged with the council's standards office about Cllr Carter's actions and comments on social media.

Cllr Carter was invited to comment on these issues by Thurrock Nub News but he has declined to respond.

Cllr Carter's actions adds to the growing amount of public disquiet over the actions of local councillors. That was brought to something of a head earlier this year when a social media post about a council meeting and the way some councillors behaved went viral.

At the heart of the nastiness that came about at a digital meeting of Handforth Parish was clerk Ms Jackie Weaver, who shot to fame when she infamously booted the chair off the meeting.

Ms Weaver has become something of a local government celebrity in the wake of her actions - and even earned a Disney advertising deal earlier in the year, and dressed up as a zombie to promote The Walking Dead.

She is now spearheading a campaign and petition calling for better behaviour from councillors and more sanctions to be imposed against those who abuse the privilege of their position. You can read more about Ms Weaver on our sister Nub News site here.