TROWBRIDGE town councillor Ben Biddulph has resigned from the Liberal Democrat party after the Wiltshire Times revealed his views on homosexuality.

Party officials received his letter of resignation on Friday, just hours after the story hit west Wiltshire's streets.

The 27-year-old came under fire from Wiltshire police and councillors after brandishing gays and lesbians as perverts in a letter to the Wiltshire Times.

But Cllr Biddulph, who was elected in May and represents the College ward, is standing by his beliefs and said he would resist any calls for him to resign from the town council.

He said: "My reasons for my resignation from the Liberal Democrats are very numerous.

"I said what I said for very strong religious reasons. It is not something I can change at the drop of a hat.

"The Church has instructed all Catholic politicians to oppose measures to recognise the legal recognition of homosexual union."

In the letter Cllr Biddulph, of Newtown, Trowbridge, said homosexuality was an anti-Christian practice on a par with bestiality and paedophilia.

He said: "My role in public life is to tell the truth and stand up for what I believe in.

"It is totally ridiculous for someone to say I shouldn't have said what I said."

Trowbridge Town Council is making an official complaint to the Standards Board for England which investigates breaches of conduct because it is unhappy with Cllr Biddulph's words.

Clerk Doug Ross said: "He should never have written it as a town councillor. Councillors could see it as a failure to treat people with respect and that it has damaged the reputation of his office.

"We would like to totally disassociate ourselves from his comments. Trowbridge Town Council is an equal opportunities council."

Cllr Steve Squires, chairman of the Trowbridge branch of the Liberal Democrats, welcomed news of the resignation.

He said: "There is no way, as Liberal Democrats, we can have a person with bigoted views of that nature."

Vicky Landell Mills, chairman of the Westbury Constituency of Liberal Democrats, does not think Cllr Biddulph's outburst would affect the reputation of the party.

She said: "People will not associate those comments with Liberal Democrats. The question of people's sexual orientation is not a matter for public discrimination."

Wiltshire Police roundly criticised the outspoken Trowbridge town councillor for comparing homosexuality with paedophilia.

PC Steve Drage, the diversity officer for north and west Wiltshire, said: "This is a seriously unhelpful contribution to the multi-agency efforts to build a safer and more inclusive environment for all of west Wiltshire's residents."