A town council has been criticised as a 'closed shop' after members turned down the only prospective candidate for a vacant seat.

Barnard Castle Town Council agreed not to re-advertise the vacant seat after members voted against co-opting retired electro-mechanical engineer Tony Cooke onto the council.

Mr Cooke, 62, who also worked for Darlington Borough Council, said he felt the decision not to appoint him was undemocratic.

He added: "I will be applying again. I feel I should be allowed the right to sit on the council if no other people put their names forward and there is a vacancy.

"I shall be making my feelings know to the clerk.

"I feel it's totally undemocratic if they're not going to appoint me because I'm not going to tow the party line."

At a meeting this week, in a secret ballot, members of the town council voted by five votes to three not to co-opt Mr Cooke.

No reason was given for the decision, a move that Councillor Newton Wood said was not in the interests of the people of Barnard Castle.

Coun Wood, who voted in favour of Mr Cooke, said: "I can't understand why we should turn a gentleman down. We should be marching them in here at gun point.

"Here's a man who's offered to help and we have turned him down and no reason has been discussed here.

"The people who voted against him haven't given reasons. It's a closed shop."

Councillor Alan Wilkinson said there was no need to give a reason or to re-advertise the vacant seat.

He said: "It is customary rather than statutory to give reasons.

"We have done all that might be reasonably expected of a council and run into difficulties. If somebody volunteers and says privately to one of us they want to be a councillor we can re-open the process."

Although Mr Cooke also sits on neighbouring Stainton and Streatlam Parish Council he said he would represent all residents of Barnard Castle equally.