There were heated exchanges between Falmouth town councillors on Monday night after one claimed he had been elected "to cause trouble" while another accused a colleague a saying "stupid things" after she challenged his commitment.

The rows broke out during a debate prompted by a motion put forward by Mathew McCarthy who has taken issue with the way the council's budget was voted through late last year, only days after members had seen the final figures.

Put forward on behalf of the Fairer Falmouth Group, Mr McCarthy's request was that the council implements a minimum two week period between the publishing of the draft budget and any vote on it.

He added that within this period, the council should make every effort to consult with the public on the proposed budget and hold an independently chaired public meeting to ensure the views of Falmouth residents are clearly heard.

The chair of the finance committee, Candy Atherton, took issue with this and put forward an amendment which would mean the public would be consulted only if the proposed budget increase is over ten per cent. After a lengthy debated, this was voted through by the council.

It was during that debate that Mr McCarthy, who was elected onto the council last year, said: "I have been elected by the people of Penwerris to cause trouble."

This prompted an angry reaction from mayor, Grenville Chappel, who said the comment was an insult to him and former mayor, John Body, who both represent Penwerris."How dare you say that," said Mr Chappel. "I know the people of Penwerris better than you. I have spoken to the people there and many of them have things to say about you, Councillor McCarthy, but I will not repeat them as they are not very nice."

Also during the debate, Diana Merrett took a swipe at Steve Eva, who had spoken in support of Mr McCarthy's motion. She drew attention to the fact that Mr Eva had previously left most council meetings at 8pm "to play cards."

He responded by saying: "Councillor Merrett says stupid things. She can snap and snitch all she likes, but at the end of the day I just want to be fair to all the people of Falmouth. I want all the people of Falmouth to see the budget and if they support it, I will support it."

Other members defended the council's stance over its budget setting. Deputy mayor, Trish Minson, said: "When we were elected as councillors, with that responsibility comes a mandate to set the budget for the people. I feel we adequately consult with the public."