A COUNCILLOR faces losing his seat because he has not attended enough meetings.

Labour man Keith Murray-Hetherington, who has represented Stanley on Durham County Council since 1997, has attended only eight meetings in the last two years.

He now stands to lose his seat because he has not turned up to meetings in the last six months.

Unless he can prove the county council's attendance record is wrong he will forfeit his place on the council and his monthly allowance, which is worth £7,200 a year.

Coun Murray-Hetherington is a magistrate and recently resigned as chairman of the Derwentside Primary Care Trust, a post paying up to £20,420 for a three-day week.

He said he wanted to spend more time on his 'other personal commitments.'

He has resisted calls from the council's Labour leader Ken Manton to stand down and last month he insisted he would continue as a councillor after quitting the party in protest at New Labour.

The Standards Board - the watchdog of councillors' behaviour - rejected his complaint about Coun Manton's conduct in the matter.

Coun Manton said: "Having resigned from the primary care trust and having forfeited his seat on the county council, he should now have plenty of extra time on his hands for those other commitments and I wish him well in his endeavours.

"It is not very often that a councillor falls foul of the six month rule and it is a great pity when it happens.

"But serving the public requires a significant degree of sacrifice and commitment and if people don't appreciate that when they stand for election they should not put themselves forward."

Coun Murray-Hetherington, who was Derwentside District Council's youngest chairman in 1991, declined to comment.

Independent councillor for Weardale, John Shuttleworth, said: "He should have been there to represent the people but he has not done that."

North Durham Labour MP Kevan Jones said he would welcome Coun Murray-Hetherington's resignation from the county council.

Mr Jones said: "This at least gives local people a chance to elect a county councillor who will represent them. If he is leaving the council I welcome it."

Durham County Council staff are now making plans for a by-election.