A vote to fund an NHS birthday celebration and behaviour on social media have led to telling-offs for two Stroud town councillors.

The code of conduct cases were raised at a town council meeting earlier this week, with both councillors identifying themselves despite initially being kept anonymous on the agenda.

Former Green mayor of Stroud John Marjoram, who is also a district councillor, has been reprimanded for voting to give £2,000 to campaign group Stroud Against the Cuts to help put on a 70th birthday party for the NHS.

Cllr Marjoram should have declared a personal interest and abstained because "on the balance of probabilities" he was a member of SATC at the time of the vote, a solicitor concluded on behalf of Stroud District Council after its investigation. 

He has since insisted to both the district council and the SNJ that he was not a member of SATC at the time of the vote, telling colleagues at this week's meeting: "I don't want 'liar' printed on my tombstone."

However, the district council found no evidence cllr Marjoram had encouraged or advised SATC in preparing its application for the grant.

The grant for the NHS birthday grant was later cancelled by the town council's clerk despite approval from town councillors because of SATC's "history of protesting about political issues."

The complaint against cllr Marjoram was made by Conservative councillor Steve Dechan, who faced his own.

He was sent an advisory letter by the district council following "intimidatory and/or disrespectful" Tweets, though no further investigation took place.

Of cllr Marjoram, he said: "I don't see how a councillor of at least thirty years could fail to declare an interest.

"He knew what he was doing. Sometimes this council feels more like a club than a council."