A parish councillor, forced to resign following a vote of no confidence, is to stand for election at Basildon Council.

Mark Dale, former chairman of Little Burstead parish council, has thrown his hat back into the local government ring by standing as an indepen dent candidate for the Lee Chapel North ward of Basildon Council at the elections on May 4.

Mr Dale, of Pound Lane, Laindon, resigned from his position as parish councillor in November last year following comments he made about residents of the parish.

A statement from the Parish Council following the outburst said Mr Dales' unprovoked attack on the residents of Little Burstead had made his position untenable.

Following his decision to stand in the borough elections Mr Dale said the comments he made were personal and should not have led to a vote of no confidence.

He said: "I have no regrets from Little Burstead, the problems which arose were beyond my control.

"I think we changed Little Burstead's fortunes and the borough council now notices the area's needs far more."

The problems at Little Burstead have not put Mr Dale off local government. He said: "I will be working for the good of people in Basildon. Normal members of the public are not always listened to, but as a councillor you have more sway."

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