Chippenham town councillor Rob Jones has resigned from the role.

Coun Jones, 50, of London Road, has been on the council for seven years. He served the Hardens and England ward as a Liberal Democrat and sat on two committees, as well as running a business, Caterfix Kitchens, with his wife Frankie.

He announced at the full council meeting last Wednesday that he was leaving for personal reasons.

He told the Gazette: “My business workload has increased significantly, leaving me with the sense that I could not give the role as much time and effort that is required.”

He said he found the hardest part of the role was attempting to assist people with “what was always a non town council problem, i.e. a Wiltshire Council issue”.

He said: “I must say though that in my time as a councillor I’ve met some extraordinary people and the officers and staff of the council are some of the finest people I’ve had the privilege to meet.”

Mayor Sylvia Gibson said: “Rob will be a big loss to the town council. He had taken on the chair of the amenities committee and made a big difference to those meetings. He liaised with the officer so, being well informed of all the situations, this enabled him to lead the meetings and encourage discussions so that all issues were resolved satisfactorily.

“Rob was a great support to myself and fellow councillors, always willing to share his knowledge.”