A party spokesperson said:

“It has come to our attention that a leaflet in the names of DUP Coast Road councillors Andrew Clarke and Angela Smyth has been distributed in areas of Larne which claims that TUV councillors “walked out” of a council meeting and did not support a motion calling for a new play park for the Factory.

“This is totally untrue.

“The minute clerk’s records show that TUV Councillor, Brian Collins, was in the meeting at the material time and TUV Council Leader, Cllr Matthew Armstrong was participating remotely. 

“No one, from any party, opposed the motion. There was not a formal vote. The motion went through on the nod, yet these DUP councillors want the public to believe the TUV did not support the motion!

“Finally, it is worth noting that the motion calling for the new play park was of limited consequence as provision for the project had already been made in the council’s capital plan. The motion from councillors Clarke and Smyth was an attempt to make themselves relevant.

“Our councillors who were present when the motion was debated will be in contact with a solicitor about this matter. We will also be referring councillors Clarke and Smyth to the Local Government Ombudsman for Standards arising from their publishing of false information.

“It is testament to the desperation of the DUP to counter the rise of TUV that they would stoop to this level. We will not tolerate being lied about and will defend our record on council most robustly.”