WILTSHIRE councillor Anna Cuthbert has thanked her Conservative colleagues for their support as she confirmed this week that she is still not well enough to return to her council duties.

The mother-of-two said: "I’ve had a really terrible bout of depression and anxiety which has made doing anything really difficult over the last few months.

"The Conservative group has been very kind and supportive and have shared out my responsibilities so that I can concentrate on getting better. All the parish councils were contacted a while ago about it, and case work looked after by my colleagues. I’m in touch with Jane Scott to finalise a back to work programme."

Speculation about Mrs Cuthbert, who represents Bromham, Rowde and Potterne, started early this summer after she missed a number of meetings but in July she announced she was feeling better and attended the full council meeting on July 10.

At the time she said: "I have been unwell for several months and unable to attend to my council duties. I am now feeling much better and attended a meeting of Wiltshire Council on Tuesday. Thank you to those of you who have asked how I am and have picked up on the fact that all is not well. I know I have some catching up to do.”

But her health has continued to be an issue and figures released by Wiltshire Council in August showed she had attended just four out of nine Wiltshire meetings since April. She also failed to attend parish council meetings.

This week rumours started to spread that she had moved out of Potterne to be closer to her husband's new job.

But this week she said that while her husband did have a new job the family was not moving and her two daughters were doing well at local schools. She said: "We are very settled in Potterne."

Wiltshire councillor Richard Gamble is to stand in for her on Potterne Parish Council, Laura Mayes on Rowde and Jonathon Seed on Bromham.

She was first elected to Wiltshire Council in May, 2015 in a by-election and then re-elected in May 2017.

In 2014 before she became a councillor she campaigned successfully to have a play area taken out of the village's neighbourhood plan and organised a Save Our Park protest.

In March 2016 she became involved with helping homeless people in Devizes after John Saunders organised a meeting to find ways to help rough sleepers.

At the time she said: "The compassion and care for people less fortunate than ourselves was quite overwhelming from the volunteers and residents who came out to lend their support and offer assistance. We should be very proud that we live in a community that wants to help people regardless of their background and circumstances."