TWO councillors have been 'sacked' from Scottish Borders Council's ruling administration.

On Tuesday, it was announced Watson McAteer (Ind), who represents Hawick and Hermitage and Stuart Marshall (Ind) from Hawick and Denholm had left the ruling group, which is made up of Conservatives and Independents.

But Councillor McAteer says the pair "were kicked out".

He told the Border Telegraph: "Just to be perfectly clear we did not leave, we were kicked out.

"We had decided to leave the Independent Alliance due to its ineffectiveness, but had intimated to the council leader [Shona Haslam] that we would happily remain part of the administration.

"I was shocked to appear at the council’s executive committee meeting this [Tuesday] morning and to be summarily dismissed when the councillors got together and agreed to throw me out.

"I take the actions today to be a slight on Hawick and the local communities. Stuart Marshall and I polled the largest votes by a significant number and all of that has been totally ignored.

"Today’s hasty decision unfortunately highlights the leadership problems that Scottish Borders Council are experiencing and this needs to be resolved as a matter of some urgency."

Since the start of the year there has been in-fighting at Scottish Borders Council over issues such as grass cutting and cemetery maintenance.

Leader Shona Haslam said there "was a number of issues" which couldn't be resolved with Cllrs McAteer and Marshall.

She said: "I would like to place on record the recognition of the work these councillors for their constituents in Hawick.

"However, over recent weeks there have been a number of issues which we have been unable to resolve and was proving a distraction from the overall work to build a vibrant and healthy Scottish Borders.

"As such the decision was taken that these councillors could no longer remain as part of the administration.

"I know they will continue to represent the interests of their constituents in Hawick and contribute to the ambitious wider goals we are trying to achieve here in the Borders."