A MAYOR banned from a town pub claims he may have been misunderstood by the landlord, who is partially deaf.

Tony Cooke insists he was not rude to staff during an official reception at the pub in Barnard Castle, last year.

The Northern Echo reported yesterday how Andy and Sue Hill, who run the Beaconsfield, attended a meeting of Barnard Castle Town Council earlier this week to demand an apology.

However, Councillor Cooke refused, saying he had nothing to apologise for.

The row started after the town’s mayor was allegedly rude to staff after ordering a pint of shandy and, it was also claimed, he pushed past a barmaid.

Yesterday, Coun Cooke said the misunderstanding may have been caused because Mr Hill has trouble hearing.

“Some people are saying I should apologise so the matter is dealt with, but I’m not going to apologise because that would be admitting I’ve done something wrong,” he said.

“I’m a disabled person on a walking stick. How the hell can I barge someone out of the way?

“I’m not that sort of person.

Mr Hill, no disrespect to him, but he’s deaf from what I hear and he lip reads.

“I’m an ex-barman myself and I know how to pour a shandy. All I queried was I wanted a beer shandy, not a lager shandy.

“When I asked for a shandy he went straight for the lager pump and I said ‘Oh not lager, I want a beer shandy please, John Smiths Smooth’.

“If you call that shouting, I’m sure they get worse than that from the customers.

“When I’m on ceremonial duty, why would I act the way he says I did?”

However, last night Mr Hill, who said he was partially deaf, insisted Coun Cooke had acted inappropriately.

“I have worked behind a bar for 18 years and I know when someone is having a laugh and when someone is being rude. I didn’t interpret it any other way than him being rude – I knew exactly what he was saying.”

The alleged incident happened after a reception at the pub following the town’s annual Aviation Day celebration last July.

As a result, Coun Cooke has been banned from the Beaconsfield and is no longer able to attend several official events there.