Bitter feud between councillors from two villages Ormesby and Scratby

It's website proudly states: 'We are three communities, one parish.'

But Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby Parish Council (incorporating the smaller community of California) is far from united.

A bitter feud between councillors from the two main villages of Ormesby and Scratby has led to years of rancour, with alleged threats of violence and bullying, a police investigation, and two annual village fetes being held because a joint venue couldn't be agreed.

Even the dead have been unable to rest, with angry recriminations over a body buried in the wrong plot, leading to an exhumation.

Things have become so bad that some Scratby members wanted to declare independence from Ormesby in what was dubbed 'Norfolk's Brexit'.

The bad blood has seen half a dozen resignations among councillors and clerks. Local elections to fill the spaces have been cancelled next month because no one was willing to join the dysfunctional council.

Some locals blame the acrimony on a long-running rivalry between the largely settled residents of leafy Ormesby, with its two village greens and a medieval church, and more salt of the earth Scratby a mile away, which is home to hundreds of holiday chalets and caravans and attracts newcomers from London and Essex.

Others say it is down to 'narcissistic' personalities competing for attention – and resources for their respective communities.

Neutrals complain it struggles to properly serve any of the communities because of the schism – an allegation denied by the remaining members.

But Ormesby resident Christine Lee, who quit as parish council chairman three years ago, said: 'The behaviour was absolutely appalling. It was affecting my whole life.

'I made attempts time and time again to tell councillors they could not behave like this but I realised it was completely futile to try and make them change.'

Whatever the truth behind the fallout, it is having to manage with just nine of the full complement of 15 councillors because locals don't want to get caught up in the furore by representing their community.

Matters came to a head in October 2021 when, following what council minutes recorded as 'continued animosity', some Scratby councillors called for a formal split from the troubled union with Ormesby.

Scratby councillor Peter Holley - who is said to have complained of discrimination and victimisation over who was being appointed to certain duties – allegedly 'threatened to kill' fellow councillor David Troy.

Ironically, Mr Troy was a fellow Scratby councillor who opposed the plan to secede from Ormesby.

The then clerk, Philip Stone, asked police to attend the next meeting, although their presence wasn't needed in the end after they pre-empted the occasion by speaking to the parties involved.

An Ormesby resident, who was at the meeting where tempers boiled over, said: 'David was threatened by Peter Holley, who basically threatened to come over and kill him.

'These rogue councillors can run amok because there's nobody to keep them in check. Complaints go to an auditing officer but it's very hard to get rid of a rogue councillor. They're narcissistic bullies.

'Peter Holley was not happy that, at the time, there were more Ormesby councillors. To be fair, there were one or two more councillors representing Ormesby but it's bigger than Scratby.

'Philip Stone was the clerk and he called the police. The police spoke to David Troy but he didn't want to continue because he felt he didn't get support from the council itself.'

The resident, who asked not to be identified, added: 'David went against what Peter and the others wanted and, in their eyes, he was a traitor.

'At that particular meeting, he looked Peter in the eyes and Peter took it as a challenge. He basically put his hands up as if to say 'Come on then' and he said something like 'If you carry on like that, I'm going to come over and kill you'.

'The effect on David has been horrendous. The council had been his life.'

Mr Stone, who left the council in February last year, told the Mail he had to escort then council chairman Christine Lee to her home in Ormesby because she was 'scared for her physical safety'.

He added: 'I was clerk for 22 months and I was the last of seven clerks in five years and I lasted the longest.

'I left with a pay-off of £7,500, which took me to £12,000 when holiday and everything was included. I was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement but I didn't.

'In August 2022, it got so bad I was not longer able to make informed decisions and went to the doctor's. I was signed off with stress for two months.'

Mr Stone said his departure was negotiated after he filed a grievance about alleged bullying by two councillors – Phil Nathan, who is now chairman, and vice chairman Kathryn Wendt, who are both from Scratby.

He claimed another councillor, Ormesby's Geoff Freeman, called him a w***** and 'belittled' him over his dyslexia, despite being in charge of standards at the local district council.

Mr Stone was also caught up in the burial farce of March 2022, when the wrong plot was used at St Margaret's Church in Ormesby to bury local resident Barry Halksworth, 82, as reported by MailOnline.

'Freeman tried to say it was my fault but it was not. There was a full investigation by the crematorium management and they found the fault was with the data [collated] before my time,' he said.

He added: 'I'm 56 and this is the hardest job I have ever had and with the nastiest of people. It was like herding four-year-olds.

'It was all about personality. It wasn't about the council, the public. They were unpleasant in the extreme.'

Former barrister Ms Lee said she made a complaint against Mr Holley in late 2021 which had still not been resolved and was currently in the hands of the monitoring officer at Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

She added: 'I put my heart and soul into that council but there were violent bullies and there is no appropriate form from what is a small council to control it.

'I walked away from it. There was no one prepared to do the right thing. It's been bubbling on here in Ormesby and Scratby for a long time.'

The latest councillor to quit is another Ormesby representative, Justin Rundle, who left a few months ago and is 'feeling better now', having become a borough councillor for Great Yarmouth.

The carpenter, 47, resurrected the local fete in 2020 after a gap of 12 years but had to 'fight tooth and nail to get that because people on the parish council were trying to block it'.

He claimed Mr Holley wanted the fete in Scratby 'so he started one last year and they had one in the village hall'.

'Parish councils are not a very nice environment,' he said.

Current council chairman Phil Nathan commented 'Good luck' when the Mail asked him what had been happening.

He said: 'We will not be commenting to anyone about anything. It's a story being blown out of proportion for all the wrong reasons. I suggest to you you do not publish this story.

'It you require to have any questions asked or answered, you should contact the clerk of the council via the email address on the website.'

Clerk Chris Batten admitted there had been a 'falling out' at the October 2021 meeting and a 'formal letter of apology' had been sent to all the councillors – but said he was 'not aware' of the details.

He confirmed police had spoken to Mr Holley about it but insisted: 'He's a forthright person. I have never witnessed him bullying anyone and have not been bullied myself.'

Mr Batten added: 'To say nobody wants to join [the parish council] is incorrect. There's definitely a divide but it's not a divide of the people who attend council meetings. It's a divide that is historic.

'Ormesby has been a co-joined council since 1947. I have been to every meeting since October and I have never witnessed any divide. I have enjoyed my time so far.'

In a written response about the exhumation, he added: 'Contrary to the suggestion there was no record of the plot, there indeed existed documentation… the ultimate responsibility lies with the clerk.'

He also said the alleged comments about dyslexia were 'factually inaccurate' as the remark was 'prompted by a failure on the part of a clerk to disclose their dyslexia and the discussion revolved around potential support mechanisms'.

Mr Holley laughed when asked about the feud, saying: 'It's three-and-a-half years old.'

In relation to the bullying claims, he added: 'I will leave it to the parish council to deal with. I will notify the chairman.'

In the meantime, the council is managing with five members from Ormesby and four from Scratby – leaving locals bemused and appalled by the situation in equal measure.

One said in an online forum: 'It's easy to see why the council is in the state it is. Someone external needs to be stepping in.'

Norfolk Police refused to comment, although a source confirmed no one had been 'charged for anything'.

A Norfolk Police spokeswoman said: 'Police received a complaint of a public order offence relating to swearing and threats being made during a parish council meeting at Ormesby on October 5, 2021.

'Both parties were spoken to and no further action was taken.'