The leader of Worthing Council's Lib Dems has vowed to continue despite having five official complaints about her conduct upheld.

Sheila Player said after a marathon five-hour hearing: "The support of my group has been 100 per cent so I will continue as leader. That is what they want."

During the sometimes heated meeting, Miss Player said she had been through "five months of hell" after complaints about her conduct were lodged by two Conservative councillors and three neighbouring councils.

She read out an 18-page statement defending her actions, which took 45 minutes, but the council's standards committee upheld all the complaints.

As the voting went against her, a visibly upset Miss Player left the committee room of the town hall but later returned to hear her fate.

The committee went into private session to decide what action to take. It ruled that Miss Player must write personal apologies to Brian Lynn, leader of the council's ruling Tory group, and councillor Tim Dice, chairman of the modernisation committee.

The council will write letters of apology to the leaders of Arun, Chichester and Mid Sussex district councils.

Miss Player was also advised to undergo training on proper council procedures.

Nick John, chairman of the standards committee, said: "It has been a very difficult meeting.

"Sheila is a very good councillor. There is no doubt where her heart is and she does work hard.

"This is something that really went too far. Let's not get into this position again. Let's talk in future. Sheila is obviously very hurt by it and it's very sad."

The investigation centred on whether Miss Player misled the modernisation committee by giving false information and whether she taped conversations without the knowledge of people on the other end of the phone.

Much of the evidence during the hearing was disputed, with councillors and officers giving different versions of events.

Miss Player allegedly told the modernisation committee she had contacted the chief executives of Arun, Mid Sussex, Crawley and Chichester councils on the subject of officer support for a new decision-making structure.

She said all had said Worthing Council's proposals were "unworkable", and she had tape recordings to back it up.

But the chief executives of Mid Sussex, Crawley and Chichester denied they had spoken to Miss Player or commented on Worthing's proposals.

Arun Council, whose chief executive Ian Sumnall did speak to Miss Player but did not comment on the proposals, said it believed the tape recording of telephone conversations might be illegal. Miss Player said she did not believe an offence had been committed.

She said the investigation into her conduct could inhibit open debate and lead to the "institutional intimidation" of councillors who speak out.

Miss Player apologised for storming out of a previous meeting and throwing her papers on the floor.

She felt she was the victim of an attack on her integrity and said the investigation was flawed and unjustified.

Miss Player said: "My aim, like all councillors, is to serve the best interests of Worthing. My 'private' investigation into setting up the new systems and structures of Local Government was entirely motivated by that.

"I believe it is important that there should be mutual trust and confidence between officers and members and the best way to achieve that is by mutual respect.

"This reference to the standards committee and this investigation is corrosive of that trust and confidence and is divisive."