Website blunder

The site's address was mistakenly mentioned on a flyer about the local plan published by Wealden Conservatives. It has been delivered to about 2,000 homes in the Hellingly area.

Set up and maintained by members of the so-called Wealden Action Group, the web site makes a number of severe accusations against certain council officers relating to their work, as well as district councillors Nick and Madeleine Ellwood.

'Maddie and I are not terribly amused by any of this,' said Cllr Nick Ellwood. 'I have e-mailed the council's chief executive demanding to know what Wealden is going to do about it.

'As I understand it, any officer who is libelled, abused or assaulted in the course of carrying out his duties is forced to take action personally. In my view, the council should be doing this on their behalf as the employer of a public servant.

'This site refers in part to Maddie and myself, but I am the main target. Statements made on this site are libellous and totally untrue.'

Wealden's chief executive Charles Lant this week passed details of the web site to the council's legal advisors.

The flyer which inadvertantly pointed to the site was written by prospective Hellingly district councillor, Barby Dashwood-Hall. She apologised for her mistake this week.

'It's just a human error,' she said. 'I made a typing mistake. I meant to put the web address of Wealden District Council, but I slipped up the addresses are so similar!

'Neither I nor the Conservatives have any connection to this site or organisation in any way. I had a look at the site this morning and I was absolutely stunned. All I can say is that I'm really, really sorry to everyone it has affected.'

The founder of the Wealden Action Group and its web site, Anne Harris, contacted the Sussex Express this week to convey her gratitude to the Conservatives. 'We have had hundreds of extra hits since they put out their flyer,' she said.

Herstmonceux man Nelson Kruschandl, who is responsible for a large proportion of the site's content, said he would be willing to meet Wealden in the law courts as he believes he can prove all the allegations. 'We're simply reporting the facts,' he said. 'It's what freedom of information is all about.'

Mr Lant said this week: 'It is

my belief that the web site contains libellous material about the council that is untrue and without foundation. This material is produced by individuals who have a grievance against the council. Regrettably, this is an increasingly common feature facing councils, particularly planning authorities.

'Our legal advisors are currently considering the situation but for obvious reasons I would not want to go into any detail at this stage.'