Two security guards, hired for two hours at a cost of £40, were checking and taking the names of all visitors to the public gallery prior to the full council meeting of Erewash Borough Council at Long Eaton town hall.

The decision follows lively scenes at the previous two meetings of the council where proceedings were briefly suspended while members of the public protested against the closure of the Albion Leisure Centre and planned changes to the town's market.

Deputy leader of the Labour group, cllr Frank Phillips said: "This is a gross intrusion on the civil liberties of the ratepayers of Erewash.

"Ratepayer's taxes are now being used to shield councillors from any criticism of the decisions they make.

"It is undemocratic and flies in the face of corporate aims to actively encourage residents to engage with the council."

Labour county councillor Michelle Booth said: "More tax payers' money wasted to help make the mardy Tories feel secure in their surreal, ivory tower existence!

"Not only do the Tories not want robust political debate, they want to ban any members of the public who might look like they may question their policies."

Cllr Phillips asked who authorised the deployment of such security guards, who was paying for this level of security and why the matter had not been discussed in council. The Mayor said she would give a written reply to the questions.

In a statement, cllr Chris Corbett, leader of Erewash Borough Council, said the guards were hired because of health and safety and fire regulations when large numbers of the public were expected.

He said: "The decision was also taken in the light of disturbances in the public gallery at two previous council meetings. We felt it was appropriate to have some security in place to ensure the safety of both councillors and members of the public.

"It is envisaged that we will continue to use their services in the future if we anticipate a large number of residents or observers attending a meeting, which is for their own safety."

Speaking after the meeting, deputy leader of the Conservative group cllr Carol Hart said: "At one meeting some people were asked to leave.
"We don't want to turn people away. But there is a limit to the numbers we can have.

"We thought it was the best thing. It can be intimidating."

Cllr Hart said the guards would be hired again if the meeting was deemed to be controversial.