The acrimony evident at the last board meeting of the Malvern Hills Conservators, coupled with an angry letter from staff, represents a real low point.

There has been a sense of real progress by the Conservators in the period following the appointment of director Ian Rowat and this unhappy episode cannot be allowed to derail the organisation.

However, the fury directed at board members David Masters and Alistair Macmillan is quite extraordinary.

The accusation against Mr Masters, in particular, is that he made public comments about the probable theft of £3,000 worth of sheep in public ownership and linked it to failures in management.

He is accused of undermining the board by his fellow members, while staff accuse him of creating work by generating questions, which they have to field.

It is worth pointing out that, unlike the majority of the board, both men are elected by the public - in Guarlford (Mr Masters) and Link (Mr Macmillan).

Their purpose is to represent the public interest, as they see it. If they consider that there are serious failings in the organisation, they are duty bound to publicly raise them and see that they are publicly rectified. The same goes for any representative on any public body.

They are not there as PR men and should not be attacked for engendering public debate, even if fellow members passionately disagree with them.

On this particular issue, it does appear there have been failings. Problems have been identified, lessons have been learned and life goes on. However, it is worth remembering that an organisation that has the courage to debate failings in public, is one more likely to have the confidence of the wider community.