A former leader of Breckland Council has spoken of his surprise at at being allocated a ward ina different area from the one he has represented for nearly 20 years.

At next year's elections William Nunn will not be standing in the Guiltcross ward where he lives and works but will instead contest the Forest ward, following changes to the district boundaries which will reduce the number of Breckland councillors by five, to a total of 49.

Mr Nunn is the councillor for West Guiltcross but this ward will be merged with East Guiltcross as part of the changes recommended by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

Which councillor fights for which ward is decided by the Mid Norfolk Conservative Association.

The Tory councillor said: 'I was a bit surprised and taken aback by the decision but there must be a rationale for it.

'Eighty per cent of my ward is still the same so I didn't expect it.

'I have always thought that it is best for people who live or work in an area to represent the ward.

'It seems strange to deselect the councillor who has lived and worked in the area for a long time and replace them with someone new.

'If someone rings me up needing something I can hop on my bike and get round to them and sort them out but I won't be able to do that in the new ward.'

South West Norfolk Conservative Association agent Ian Sherwood said that although he could not comment on individual cases due to the changes some candidates would not get their first choice wards.

He said: 'Every candidate has gone through the same process.

'Simply put there are less wards therefore we need less councillors so some candidates will be unhappy.'

What do you think of the planned ward changes? Write to reporter Doug Faulkner at doug.faulkner@archant.co.uk