Ledbury Town Council is to seek professional help to resolve the damaging bickering between town councillors.

At the same meeting in which the mediation plan was agreed, a proposal to dissolve the council was defeated by a show of hands and a new major was elected, despite calls for Ledbury to have no mayor at all this year.

The decision by the council to seek mediation has been welcomed by voters, who say the ongoing rows are casting the town in a very bad light.

And there have also been calls for town councillors to remember why they were elected in the first place.

On the Ledbury Reporter Facebook site, Claire Lewis said: "Blaming is not going to help. There must be wrong on both sides. Look ahead."

However, Jan Long said public service must lie at the very heart of the solution.

She said: "Before any mediation has a chance of success, there needs to be a clear acknowledgement, by all concerned, of the council's prime purpose, which is to serve the people of Ledbury. Please let us see an end to spite and sniping which is so damaging to the town's image."

The idea of mediation, which is likely to involve funds from the public purse, was presented at the full town council meeting by a member of the public, Jane Horton. Ms Horton said: "I am concerned about the depth of division around this table. It's beyond anything you can deal with yourselves."

Fourteen town councillors voted in favour of a proposal for the council to seek professional mediation.

But councillors robustly resisted a proposal for them to resign on-mass and seek re-election.

Cllr Annette Crowe said: "I do my best for Ledbury. I think I work hard. I have no intention of standing down."

Cllr Elaine Fieldhouse was elected as the new mayor of Ledbury.

Her election follows the recent resignation of the newly-elected mayor, Cllr Martin Eager; and it also follows a recent parish meeting where there was a proposal from former town councillor, Richard Hadley, that Ledbury should have no mayor this year and that a chairman of the council should be elected instead.

Former Ledbury trader, Yvonne White, had strong words about the prospect of Ledbury having no major.

She said: "The whole town is being brought into disrepute. A very small minority of residents may stop this town having a major. That is unacceptable."

But there were a number of protests from the public seats, and some cries of support, when she pointed the finger of blame, as she saw it.

Mrs White said: "Mr Hadley, Cllr Harvey, Cllr Harrison and their clan have turned this town into a backbiting, bullying misery and I say, enough is enough. We've had five years of this. It's got to stop."

Two candidates, Cllr Nick Morris and Cllr Nina Shields stood against Cllr Fieldhouse for the position of mayor, but they were defeated by a show of hands.

In the section of the meeting allowed for public participation, Richard Hadley said there had been a secret meeting at the council offices the night before, when Cllr Fieldhouse's nomination was discussed; and he said there was "a perception of a stitch-up behind the scenes."

Cllr Fieldhouse said: "It was a Neighbourhood Plan Meeting. There was no time for anything else. I don't work like that. I am very straightforward."