A deputy town mayor has defected to the UK Independence Party from the Conservatives.

Councillor Terry Goodman, deputy mayor of Seaford Town Council, made the switch with immediate effect today.

Councillor Goodman said it was a "difficult and personal decision" caused in part by "poor decision making and judgement" by the Tory-led council over several matters which he felt "out of place". He added that the "expectation and sometimes pressure to vote with the majority party is not in the best interests of the town".

Coun Goodman said: "With UKIP I feel I will be more able to vote as I wish and not according to the will of the Party or its leaders.

"As a UKIP Councillor, my opinions will be of greater value to the Town. Indeed, since election of the first UKIP Councillor in 2012 and others subsequently, I have been impressed by their diverse skills and views which they are not reticent to express”.

Coun Goodman will continue representing Seaford as a town Councillor and as deputy mayor. He becomes the 5th UKIP councillor on Seaford Town Council and intends standing again at the local election in May 2015.