The director director of a charity which provides vital transport for elderly and housebound residents today claimed he had been thrown off the board by colleagues.

John Hughes, a former Tendring councillor, had been on the board of trustees of Tendring Community Transport for four years.

He was voted off yesterday because of "a conflict of interests" but he says all he wanted to do was help another group.

Mr Hughes said he had been helping Harwich Connexions set up its own community transport scheme on a steering group.

He said: "It now appears that because I decided to sign up with the Harwich organisation as well, I have been removed from Tendring Community Transport.

"All I wanted to do was serve both and help more people across the district."

Theresa Coyne, chief executive of Tendring Community Transport, said its board had been left with no other option.

"It does come down to a conflict of interests but I cannot disclose exactly what the nature of those are," she said.

Harwich Connexions distributes money from the Market Towns Initiative to groups in the area for its regeneration, including money for transport schemes.

Published Wednesday, May 21, 2003

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