A STORMY emergency meeting of Lancashire County Council was abandoned after a councillor collapsed with suspected heart problems.

An ambulance had to be called and a defibrillator was used.

The special gathering was discussing a Labour motion of no confidence in its Burnley-born Tory leader Geoff Driver when independent Morecambe North councillor Tony Jones became ill.

The former Conservative member had only just finished a passionate speech to fellow councillors when he collapsed.

In it the veteran of 32 years on the council, who quit the Tory group in August, launched a fierce attack on Cllr Driver and his leadership.

He told the meeting: “We used to have men of integrity on the Conservative side of this chamber.

“I  left the Conservative group  because of the way the current leadership runs the group.

“It’s not a Conservative group, its a Geoff Driver group.”

About 20 minutes later, at 3.25pm, he collapsed and an ambulance was called and defibrillator used.

The meeting was being streamed live online and saw rowdy interruptions and accusations from councillors of all parties.

The mover of the Labour motion Cllr John Fillis,  a trained nurse, and Pendle Rural Liberal Democrat David Whipp rushed across to help Cllr Jones before the meeting was suspended and abandoned at 4pm.

Cllr Fillis said: “It was real shock. David Whipp was fantastic.

“It appears Cllr Jones had a heart attack. He is currently being treated in the Royal Preston Hospital.

“I understand he is improving, is now breathing on his own and has been put in an induced coma.

“It was absolutely the right thing to abandon the meeting and we will not be bringing the motion back.”

The meeting saw Labour claims that Cllr Driver was seeking to abolish the post of county council chief executive and that this was do with a police investigation into the One Connect controversy.

Oswaldtwistle Tory Peter Britcliffe called for the meeting to be cut short as Labour councillors were repeating ‘baseless’ allegations.