Old and new councillors clashed at a heated meeting of Cockermouth Town Council.

An agenda proposal put forward at the meeting on Wednesday was described as "a mess" by mayor Julie Laidlow.

Cllr David Malloy said it was "quite presumptuous and disrespectful".

"I find the town council disjointed at the moment and not a pleasant place to be," he said.

The controversial proposal - the final item on the monthly agenda - was the recruitment process for a new town clerk following Sheila Brown's retirement.

Put forward by new councillor Marion Bowman it noted that Mrs Brown was due to retire at the end of October.

Cllr Bowman told the meeting: "We have been very well served by Sheila Brown for the last 15 years. I'm sure everyone is very grateful for the efficiency and professionalism she has brought to the job.

"We are now in the position of trying to fill those big shoes.

"We have to take responsibility for this very significant task and find the best possible candidate."

Cllr Bowman set out a proposed approach and timetable, including that "the town council agrees to appoint councillors Bowman, Samson, Beanland and Bridgman (who each have suitable experience in the recruitment of staff into leadership/ senior management roles) to form a sub-committee".

They would then undertake the process of seeking applications and selecting a shortlist of "appointable candidates" in time for the August meeting, states the proposal.

Each of the four councillors proposed were elected last month.

Cllr Malloy said: "I find it quite presumptuous and disrespectful that only certain names are on that list."

Cllr Laidlow asked: "Was Isabel Burns approached? Why was she not asked?"

Cllr Bowman replied: "I have made efforts to find people who have experience in recruitment."

"No one has more experience than Isabel. She recruited Sheila," said Cllr Laidlow.

Cllr Stephen Barnes added: "I think it was remiss not to have a long-standing councillor."

"I put my point of view forward but was not accepted," said Cllr Burns, who has served on the council for 28 years.

"All of us are 10 a penny, the leader of the band is the clerk. We are losing a massive asset," said Cllr Malloy.

"The whole sad sorry mess of this lies at the door of people around the table.

"I do not want anything to do with the selection process."

Cllr Gillian Telford described the situation as "very uncomfortable". "We need some kind of compromise solution, to look at inviting someone that has been a councillor for a long time," she said.

Councillors were asked to vote on the report - the composition of the group, delegated powers, process and timetable.

Cllr Barnes said: "I have no problems with the process but I cannot vote for the make-up of the committee when it does not include someone with long-standing council experience."

Cllr Chris Bridgman offered to stand down. Cllr Burns was asked if she would sit on the committee.

"I'm not doing it. I offered and was told I was not suitable," she said.

Five councillors voted in favour of the report: Cllrs Bowman, Beanland, Bridgman, Tucker and Watson.

Six abstained: Cllrs Laidlow, Malloy, Burns, Barnes, Telford and Bell.

While the proposal was agreed, Cllr Barnes said: "Given the number of abstentions, the people that have voted for it need to build some bridges for this to be a successful process."

Cllr Bowman suggested someone step forward and replace Cllr Bridgman. "The only element seems to be the make-up of the committee," she said.