THE Leominster Saverne Twinning Association is to hold an extraordinary general meeting after the surprise resignation of chairman Richard Winterbourn,

A former mayor of Leominster and founder of the association, Mr Winterbourn resigned after only having been re-elected as chairman at the annual meeting on March 20.

Chairman since the launch in 1993, he led a successful 10th anniversary visit to Saverne.

But strong disagreements among key members of the Leominster association are understood to have dogged the body recently. Mr Winterbourn and his wife Fran, a twinning association committee member, sent written resignations when the committee met last week.

Mr Winterbourn said: "We've done a lot of work and it's time to stand down."

Secretary Monica Todd said an extraordinary meeting would be held to sort out constitutional issues.