Leader of the Lib-Dem-controlled Winchester City Council, Sheila Campbell, is being accused of misleading residents in her ward.

City council Conservative group leader, Freddie Allgood, argues that a claim made in her annual report that his pay had risen by 90% is untrue.

Council members voted to increase the annual allowance for the principal leader of the opposition from £3,886 to £7,446.

Mr Allgood feels her report, which is being distributed in Swanmore and Newtown, near Bishop's Waltham, is misleading, pointing out that he can only claim one special responsibility allowance.

He also chairs the principal scrutiny committee, which already qualified for the £7,446 rate - meaning he does not claim the other allowance.

"For the leader of a district council to put out such misinformation beggars belief.

"The leader of the council should set standards of information and not standards of misinformation.

"I will be expecting Mrs Campbell to show respect for the voters of this district and apologise right away for her actions."

Mrs Campbell said she rejected Mr Allgood's claim that the rise in the opposition leader's allowance was academic.

"He is assuming he's going to be chairman of principal scrutiny next year. Even if he does stay, somebody else in his party may take on his role as group leader and take a huge increase."

She claimed the Conservatives started the argument over allowances by saying she received a rise of 15% this year.

While her special responsibility allowance as leader increased by 15%, her basic allowance increased by just 3.5%. As such, her combined allowances had risen from £18,216 to £20,340 - an increase of 11.6%.

The total allowances available to Mr Allgood increased from £11,739 to £12,894, a rise of 9.8%.

Mrs Campbell confirmed that she wrote and distributed her controversial report on her own and that it was not a Liberal-Democrat leaflet.

She is not facing an election in Swanmore and Newtown ward this year. Conservative member, Frank Pearson, is defending the other seat in Swanmore and Newtown on Thursday, May 1st.