The Mayor of Seaton has accused the Herald of political bias.

The Mayor of Seaton has accused the Herald of political bias.

In a letter to editor Belinda Bennett, Councillor Sandra Semple wrote: "It seems that the Midweek Herald these days should be renamed the 'Midweek Liberal Democrat Herald' since Mrs (Margaret) Rogers and Peter Burrows, well-known Lib Dem activists, get such a lot of positive exposure and Seaton Town Council - with its majority of independents - gets mostly negative coverage."

With six days to go before the publication of the next issue of the Midweek Herald, Councillor Semple has already submitted two letters for publication.

The first, which followed her allegation about the Herald, states: "One group was missing from the list of organisations and people thanked by Mrs Sanham and Mrs Rogers for the Cycling Festival - Seaton Town Council, which paid for the printing of festival brochures and which also paid for the bunting, Devon flags and special signs - a not inconsiderable contribution."

The Herald, which has no political affiliations or interests whatsoever, would like to point out that Mrs Rogers' unedited letter did thank the council - along with numerous other individuals and organisations. The list was too long to publish in a letter.

Herald editor Belinda Bennett said: "I take strong exception to Councillor Semple's allegations, which are entirely untrue.

"It is the role of local newspapers to get under the skin of the communities they serve - that includes councils and other public bodies, to ensure their work is transparent and open to public debate.