A husband and wife have lost their positions as Labour councillors after failing to attend meetings for over six months.

Jules and Bob Rogers had been elected as councillors on Pontypool Community Council, but failed to show up for any council business for at least half the year.

Pontypool Community Council has now declared two vacancies in the Abersychan and Cwmavon ward, where the pair, who also previously served on the council’s planning and environment committee, were elected.

At least ten voters from the ward must now request a by-election to take place to replace the couple by 25 August. The chief executive of Torfaen Borough Council and returning officer for the area, Stephen Vickers, will then set a date for a contest within 60 days.

If the threshold is not met, the community council will fill the vacancy by co-option as soon as is practicable after the deadline to request an election has passed.

Bob Rogers also stood for Labour as a Torfaen borough council candidate in 2022, but failed to win a seat.

The Independent has contacted the couple and Pontypool Community Council for comment.

It comes after a Reform UK councillor who said she “received no training” has withdrawn her resignation after sending her letter to the wrong council.

Newcastle-under-Lyme borough councillor Christine Duffy wrote in her resignation letter on 4 August that she had decided to step down from her position as she had received “very little or no training for this role”.

But after having sent the letter to Kidsgrove Town Council, rather than Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, she changed her mind about quitting.

Electoral Commission rules stated a councillor cannot withdraw their resignation once it has been received by the authority.

But Ms Duffy claimed she withdrew her resignation before the letter had been received by the correct council officer.

In a statement shared to the party’s local Facebook page, Ms Duffy said: “I am not resigning as the Borough Councillor for the Town ward and I remain committed to representing the residents who elected me.”

Her resignation letter was shared by a local political group, Kidsgrove Independents, who claimed Ms Duffy handed it directly to the clerk of Kidsgrove Town Council.

Ms Duffy hit back at the publication of the letter, writing: “I am appalled that a private letter, provided in confidence to the Clerk of Kidsgrove Town Council, has somehow been obtained by the Kidsgrove Independents and is now being exploited for party political purposes.”