The recent Telscombe Town Council meeting regarding Southern Water Portobello proposals was nothing short of mob rule.

I respect the views of my fellow residents and their right to have their views heard, but the addition of rent-a-mob to the proceedings, hysterical shouting from some quarters and one particular Liberal Democrat councillor acting like a trained chimp by dancing on the council tables turned it into a farce.

The final proposal was ill thought out, but there was no opportunity to discuss an amendment and the only course of action - to bring some order to the proceedings - was to pass it unanimously.

I, and all independent councillors, live in the town and are solely concerned with what happens in the town. All we want is to get the best possible for our neighbours. We don't always get it right, but you can be assured what we do is out of the best possible motives and not because of some party-political idealism.

I don't support the selling of our Tye to Southern Water or the building of the treatment plant at the top of my road. I want to fight the cause like everyone else. I have been hung, drawn and quartered for trying to put in place contingency plans for proper compensation in the event that Southern Water wins the case. Whether I have made a mistake in trying to get contingency plans drawn up too soon, could be argued.

All I have tried to do is make sure Telscombe residents don't lose out all ways. The £115,000 on the table was not, and has not, been earmarked for anything. The lies you read about the money being needed to help finish our civic centre are spread by the same politicians who want to rid the town of its independent bias. We already have the funds available to finish the town hall.

If all legal avenues are explored and every battle lost, I will still want some form of compensation for the residents of Telscombe, not a paltry couple of thousand pounds. What have I done wrong in trying to cover all possible scenarios?

I owe the genuine residents of Telscombe an apology for losing my temper at the meeting and using fairly mild Anglo-Saxon expletives, especially when there were children present. What I do not apologise for is caring about my town and the people in it.

-Tony Prince, Deputy Mayor, Telscombe Town Council