A row has broken out between Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors over a grey area in the wording of an electoral campaign leaflet.

In May this year, 11 Calne Town Council Liberal Democrat candidates won their seats on the claim that they would reverse the 31.2 per cent increase in the precept.

The increase was made by the previous council to pay for the Carnegie Library.

Last week the town council voted to set the precept at exactly the same rate as in 2001, a decrease of 31.2 per cent. The vote was passed by 11 Liberal Democrat votes against six Conservative votes.

Liberal Democrat councillor Peter Dolman said they had now honoured their promise.

But Conservatives have hit back saying the Liberal Democrats did not keep their promise.

They claim that, because the Liberal Democrats said they would reverse the high precept, many electorates believed they would receive a rebate.

Reversing the decision would mean returning all the money made when the precept was raised by 31.2 per cent, the Tories claim.

Calne town councillor and North Wiltshire District councillor John

Ireland said: "The Liberal Democrats did not keep their election promise but have used sleight of hand to cover up their failure to so do.

"If it was an honest reduction as promised then I would be the first to applaud it but it wasn't.

"It is a smoke screen to disguise the electoral deceit that brought so many into office in May."

But Liberal Democrats maintain that they kept their promise by reversing the increase and setting the 2004 precept at the 2001 rate.