UKIP county councillor Gordon Gillick has come under fire after allegedly describing youngsters in care of being 'takers' from society.

A cross party complaint has been lodged against the Wisbech councillor, accusing him of bullying and insensitivity.

And Cambridgeshire County Council leader Martin Curtis from Whittlesey says he want to stop Councillor Gillick from having any further contact with vulnerable people.

The alleged incident took place when councillors attended a mandatory safeguarding seminar at Shire Hall, because of their statutory role as corporate parents for looked after children in Cambridgeshire.

Three looked after children attended the meeting to show a film they had made about their experiences, and members were invited to ask questions.

According to the councillors' formal complaint, retired art teacher Cllr Gillick was aggressive and sneering when he asked them: 'Can you tell us: how does it feel to be takers from the system?'

When a council officer stepped forward to respond, a young woman said: 'Actually we hate having to take anything. We don't want to take. We want to be independent and provide for ourselves. That's the whole point.'

The complaint says the young people were extremely upset as they left the meeting, and were intent on making a complaint against Cllr Gillick.

The complaint accuses Councillor Gillick of breaking the members' code of conduct by bullying 'his tone style and language were inappropriate' and bringing the council into disrepute by 'insensitivity to the very people for whom we are collectively responsible.'

Cllr Curtis said Cllr Gillick's comments 'show a complete lack of understanding' but the young people involved had handed the situation extremely well.

He said: 'I have asked our officers to look at this - with a view to seeing if we can officially prevent Cllr Gillick from having any further contact with vulnerable people, which unfortunately I doubt.'

Councillor Gillick's UKIP colleagues have sprung to his defence. Councillor Peter Reeve, UKIP leader on the council said: 'This complaint is much exaggerated. Gordon is a fully qualified and very experienced secondary school teacher, and because of that experience felt confident to say something that other people felt was strongly worded.

'We stand by Gordon, he is one of the most qualified councillors to work with children of this age. There is no question in my mind that he has done anything particularly wrong.'

Councillor Paul Clapp from Wisbech, the chairman of the children and young people overview scrutiny committee for the council, said: 'This has been blown out of all context. Gordon has been a teacher for many years, why would he belittle people like that?

'This is a very caring man, being smeared by other councillors.'

Mr Gillick was away from home this week, and his wife Victoria said: 'Gordon is very popular with young people, and his approach is always robust. His training leads him to challenge and stimulate young people and they always respond to it. He has 15 grandchildren and is used to dealing with young people.'

UKIP councillor Alan Lay from Wisbech said he was not at the meeting, but claims 'there is a vendetta going around by the Conservatives towards UKIP members.'

When he was first elected back in May, Cllr Gillick joked: 'I will have to watch my tongue.'

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire County Council said: 'The Council has received 12 complaints against Councillor Gillick and these are now being looked at. It would be inappropriate for the Council to comment further.'