A third councillor has left the leading Conservative group on Warwick District Council in the space of six months.

Cllr David Norris has become an Independent councillor, leaving the Tory group with just 16 of the 44 seats on the council.

The Bishop's Tachbrook representative follows Cllr Terry Morris and Cllr Jacqui Grey who both resigned the Tory whip in May.

Cllr Norris was first elected to Warwick District Council in the 2019 elections, when the Conservative group lost 11 seats on the council and was forced to form an alliance with the three Whitnash Residents Association councillors.

That gave them half the seats on the council, meaning a split decision would come down to the chairman's vote.

Now, even with the Whitnash members, the Tories would only have a maximum of 19 seats.

The rest of the council is made up by nine Liberal Democrat, eight Green and five Labour councillors.

But despite the apparent weakening of the Tory leadership on the district council, at last week's full WDC meeting, council leader Cllr Andrew Day praised the cross-party work the council has shown since it was elected in 2019.

"Something that has been a feature of this council is good cross-party working to get things done," he said while discussing the issues of guaranteeing safe cycling to the new Kenilworth School.

Nub News has approached Cllr Norris for comment.