A NEWLY-ELECTED Winsford councillor who was found guilty of a violent attack on a woman in 2010 has resigned.

Labour’s James Wilding was elected as a Winsford Town councillor for the Wharton ward after May's elections.

His resignation – which cited ‘personal reasons’ – was accepted at the last town council meeting.

The Guardian can reveal that in May 2010 a jury at Chester Crown Court found Mr Wilding guilty of actual bodily harm after attacking Kate Welch, from Winsford, outside the Saxons Pub, in Winsford.

He was sentenced at Warrington Crown Court on February 21, 2011, and received a 12 month suspended prison sentence, a 200 hour Community Service Order and ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation to the victim.

As Mr Wilding was sentenced in 2011, he was disqualified from standing as a councillor under the Electoral Commission guidelines.

Part 1.2 of the Electoral Commission’s guidance for candidates standing for election at local government elections in England and Wales states:

“You cannot be a candidate if at the time of your nomination and on the day of the election if have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three months or more (including a suspended sentence), without the option of a fine, during the five years before polling day.”

This includes spent convictions which, under the terms of Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, can be effectively ignored after a specified amount of time.

The Guardian approached Mr Wilding but he declined to comment.

Liberal Democrat councillor, Malcolm Gaskill, criticised the Labour Party’s recruitment process.

He said: “Labour’s selection process is dire. Anybody will do. It’s highly irresponsible. This is public money they’re wasting.”

A spokesman for the Winsford Labour Party said it is the duty of the candidate to declare any previous convictions before standing.

“We rely on trust that people will give us full information when being considered as a candidate,” the spokesman said.

“We would not expect anyone to withhold information as they must realise that any conviction would show up in a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.”

As a result of the new vacancy, a by-election for the Wharton ward is now a possibility.

The spokesman said: “The council do not decide if there is to be a by-election, that is up to the residents and ten residents need to request this in order for a by election to take place.

“Going on past situations however it is likely this will be the case.”