A DEPRESSED councillor who was convicted of carrying a knife in public has been advised to consider his future in the role.

St Paul’s ward councillor Jack Parsons, of Marine Parade West, Clacton, pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a bladed article in a public place when he appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court in July.

Mr Parsons told the Gazette he had been suffering from depression and anxiety and that he took the knife into the street as “a cry for help” after drinking alcohol.

He added that he never intended to use the knife on himself or anyone else.

Mr Parsons was handed a 12 month community order and was ordered to carry out 70 hours of unpaid work.

Mr Parsons referred himself to Tendring Council’s Standards Committee following his conviction.

A report by Tendring Council’s monitoring officer said it had been a “serious offence” and did bring the council into disrepute.

A spokesman for Tendring Council said: “The Standards Committee met to discuss the issue and decided that Mr Parsons should review whether he could effectively represent the residents of St Paul’s Ward.

“It welcomed his acknowledgement that he had breached the Members’ Code of Conduct and noted that he had sent a letter of apology.

“The committee heard that Mr Parsons, who did not attend the meeting at Clacton Town Hall, had already made the public aware through reports in the media that he was drunk at the time of the incident.

“He had also stated he had been suffering from alcohol and mental health issues for some time and thought he would cause a scene to receive attention as he wanted help.

“All Councillors sign up to the Members’ Code of Conduct when they are elected. It exists to ensure councillors fulfil the statutory duty to promote and maintain high standards of conduct in public life.”

Mr Parsons told the monitoring officer that since the incident he has been attending group sessions at Phoenix Alcohol Project and sees a private psychotherapist.

He added: “I am truly sorry for the offence that I committed and for bringing the council into disrepute.

“No words can forgive what I have done, and the guilt will haunt me forever.”

Mr Parsons was elected as a Ukip councillor in 2015 but defected to Labour last December before quitting his new party after five months to become an independent.