LEADERS of the two biggest opposition parties on Wyre Forest District Council have accused a ruling Health Concern councillor of going behind their backs over a decision on election reforms.

A letter was sent to the Boundary Commission slamming changes to ward borders "on behalf of Wyre Forest District Council" without the blessing of the 23-member majority, said Conservative leader Stephen Clee and Liberal leader Fran Oborski.

The letter, sent with the approval of district council leader Howard Martin, "cannot and must not be taken as accurately representing the views of the whole of Wyre Forest District Council" said Mr Clee and Mrs Oborski in a joint statement, which has been passed to the committee.

They also said the information needed to send a response was available as early as April.

They felt a working party set up to agree a reply could have been called in May.

But Mr Martin insisted the response to the Boundary Committee was merely a "holding letter" to buy all councillors time to talk about the reforms.

He said a misunderstanding over when the council's response had to be in was to blame for the hastiness of the reply from chief executive of the district council Walter Delin but should not be taken as a final say by the 42-member administration.

He said: "It is an interim response from Walter Delin and myself but it has gone under the name of Wyre Forest District Council."

Yet Mr Martin said the boundary reforms put forward by Worcestershire County Council, which would see Kidderminster lose a county councillor, were an "atrocious mish-mash of poor thinking".

He also hit out at Mr Clee and Mrs Oborski who said a meeting could have been called at short notice to canvas the views of councillors on the matter as "playing politics in the silly season".

He said: "They are missing the point completely as they so often do.

"Trying to make this out to be something on which political points can be scored in wrong."

The district council's boundary review working group will next meet to discuss the options facing Wyre Forest on September 3.

However, a spokeswoman for the Boundary Committee said further submissions would now have to be made in 2004 when the committee publishes draft responses to this year's consultation, on February 24.