A WEST Devon Conservative councillor has resigned, following an incident involving comments made on a social networking site.

West Devon Borough Council's standards committee has found that Darren Lake, who represented Tavistock North, breached the councillors' code of conduct by bringing the authority into disrepute by using inappropriate language on his personal Facebook page.

The council was alerted to the issue following a complaint by a member of the public.

A spokesperson for the council said: 'The committee, who met on Thursday February 2, decided to suspend him from council duties for three months.

'He has also been told that he must apologise to the council and the complainant and will also receive further training.

'However, following the hearing, Mr Lake has since resigned as a councillor.'

Cllr James McInnes, leader of the Tory group on the council, said: 'Cllr Lake is truly sorry for what he said on his Facebook page.

'Following the decision of his Standards Board hearing he resigned. Cllr Lake felt it was the only honourable thing to do.

'The use of social media is an important part of communication today and for elected members it's a great way to interact with constituents, but it must be used responsibly.

'Being elected to public office is a great honour and with it comes a duty to behave in a manner that is acceptable. I'm sorry to lose a young councillor in this way.'

Mr Lake, 20, who was elected to the council in May 2011, thanked everyone who had voted for him last year, and the council officers for their support.

He said although his time as a councillor had been 'interesting', he did not envisage standing as a candidate in the future, due to the difficulties of combining full time work with the duties of an elected member.

A by-election will be held on March 22. Nomination papers, available from the council, should be submitted by February 24.

The polling station will be Tavistock Methodist Church.

The resignation does not alter the political make-up of the council, which is now: Conservatives 18 seats, Independents 9, Liberal Democrats 3, one vacancy.