THE leader of Worcestershire County Council has announced his resignation after being charged with drink driving.

Councillor Adrian Hardman will quit at the next full council meeting on Thursday, January 14 after being pulled over by police last Tuesday and failing a breath-test.

The 59-year-old has released a statement in the last few minutes calling it "a gross misjudgement" and apologising for his arrest and charge.

He said:"Drinking and driving was a gross misjudgement on my part and I would like to apologise.

"In doing so I have fallen short of the standards that I set for myself and those that I expect from my fellow Worcestershire county councillors.

"I will therefore be standing down as leader at the next full council meeting on January 14th.

"I fully support the drink driving laws. I will be pleading guilty in court next month and will accept the punishment that is handed to me."

The events of the last few days have sent shockwaves around County Hall, with the authority looking for its second new leader since 2010.

Councillor Hardman took over at the helm of the authority in November 2010 after former leader George Lord was forced to resign due to being charged with two counts of sexual assault against women.

His resignation as leader means he will still be a councillor, representing Bredon, until the next set of elections in May 2017.

Chief executive Clare Marchant sent an email around to all councillors and the workforce at 8.09am this morning telling them about Councillor Hardman's decision to quit.

Reaction was pouring in from councillors today, with all of them saying it was the right thing to do.

It has also emerged that Councillor Hardman emailed members of his own Tory group on Sunday night, to tell them he was intenting to quit.

Councillor Peter McDonald, Labour group leader, said: "He has done what's been expected of him because he had no other choice.

"If he hadn't have gone we'd have been pushing for his resignation as a Labour group.

"When I heard about this yesterday from the Worcester News I found the whole thing shocking, it was amazing he'd found himself in this position.

"He would have been fully aware of the risks and the dangers he was putting himself and others in."

Deputy Lib Dem group leader, Councillor Tom Wells said: "Despite Adrian being from a different political party, I always had regard for his leadership.

"This has come as a shock, I am extremely shocked to be honest, but his position as leader had become untenable.

"The county council is the highways authority - given its position on road safety he clearly had to go."

Green Party Councillor Matthew Jenkins said: "It was the right decision - as leader he represents this council.

"To some extent, it could happen to almost anybody, but you'd think he'd be a lot more aware of the risks he was taking, given that he's a councillor.

"When you become a councillor it certainly makes you think of those kind of things.

"Maybe he was a bit complacent."

All thoughts will now start to turn towards who will become the new leader of the council from next month.

Conservative Councillor Paul Tuthill, a backbencher, said: "I think it's truly tragic in the real sense of the word tragic.

"Adrian was a big man in all senses of the word, he was a very good leader and a very interesting person to talk to.

"It didn't happen very far from where he lives, what a great shame he didn't decide to walk home or even get his wife or someone to pick him up."

Councillor John Smith, a fellow cabinet member at County Hall, said: "I understand why he's stepping down but it's very sad.

"Adrian was very good, very knowledgeable, very fair, when George Lord had to go he stepped in and did a great job to turn the council around.

"The council had to be a different one and he knew that, he was a really good leader."

* More on this story will follow through the day.

* Here is how we broke the story of his arrest and charge yesterday.