A TOWN councillor in Selby has defended outspoken comments he made against “Polish drinkers” in an official email.

In an email to Selby Town Council, seen by The Press, Councillor Andy Williams comments on the location of a bench on land close to Scott Road.

In it, he said: “Clearly we don’t want Polish ‘p*** artists’ holding bonfires and 24-hour alcoholic binges.

“The attraction must be that it is secluded. My worry is that once a ‘den’ has been established, it won’t matter if the bench is there or not, they will just sit on the ground under the trees.”

Fellow Selby councillor Steve Shaw-Wright said he was stunned by the email’s content.

He said: “I am shocked and surprised at the content of the email, the language is, in my opinion, questionable and unacceptable to say the least.

“I would hope in future he engages his brain before hitting the send button.”

Cllr Williams said the content of the email referred to information he had been given by locals complaining about “drunken Polish men” at the site, “smoking and drinking”, and swearing within earshot of patients of a nearby doctor’s surgery.

He said: “It would be wrong to say I’m anti-Polish. I’m anything but.

“I am not racist. I was told the problem was a lot of heavy drinking at the bench and the implication that smoke was bothering the patients at the medical centre.

“If we’d have known it was swearing that was taking place, then I wouldn’t have said what I said. We shouldn’t be subjecting patients to embarrassment.”

Cllr Williams admitted that “looking back, I feel it could have been worded more sensitively”, but said the email had addressed specific information available at the time.

The Press was also shown an email from a North Yorkshire Police officer which said: “We are having issues with Polish males urinating and setting fires to the rear of the doctor’s surgery on Scott Road just wondering if there is a possibility of the bench being removed from this location.”

The police email confirmed there had been reports of a fire and a number of calls from the public reporting concerns over events in the area, leading to extra police patrols being carried out.