A DEFIANT mayor, who was convicted for his part in selling contraband cigarettes, last night insisted he would remain in his post.

Councillor Ray Calvert, who became the civic leader of Bedale, North Yorkshire, only three months ago, insisted that he had done nothing wrong and would not be stepping down.

Coun Calvert, 59, was fined £300 by magistrates in Richmond last week after admitting a charge of allowing cigarettes without the proper markings to be sold at the Bedale Riverside Club, where he is voluntary secretary.

Club stewardess Linda Christine Lloyd, 48, of Emgate, Bedale, was also fined the same amount after she pleaded guilty to a similar offence.

The charges related to a total of 750gm of Golden Virginia hand-rolling tobacco and 6,960 Palace cigarettes recovered from the club after a visit from customs officers earlier this year.

The court was told that the revenue on the bootleg items would have been worth about £1,000.

But at a council meeting last night, Coun Calvert ended days of speculation by announcing to colleagues and townspeople that he believed his conviction had not tarnished the town.

He said: "I do not consider that I have done anything to bring the council into disrepute and, therefore, I do not intend to resign.

"I have been touched by the level of support I have received from the electorate and members of the town council."

Coun Calvert, who lives in the town's Southgate, has been a member of Bedale Town Council for seven years and was elected to succeed John Weighell in May.

The cases against him and Ms Lloyd arose after Customs and Excise officials visited the Riverside Club in January this year.

Following his conviction, Coun Calvert had insisted there was no question of personal gain on his part, but he said he regretted the incident.