A special council meeting has been called following comments its youngest member made to the press.

Members of Silloth town council have been summoned to an extraordinary meeting tonight to discuss an article in the News & Star, focusing on Councillor Owen Martin, 27.

Mr Martin has been ordered to attend the meeting to “explain his media publication” and what his “expectation” of the article was.

Among his comments that appeared in last Thursday’s paper were: “There are 12 on the council. The next youngest is 40 maybe. A lot of them are in their 60s or 70s.

“None of them were used to anybody young on the council. The younger ones are wanting to move things forward. Some of the older ones don’t like too much change.

“Initially it was a bit of a struggle. But if I’ve got a point to make, I make it.

“I do my research so they can’t come back and say ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about’.”

Mr Martin also spoke about his role as chairman of Silloth Tourism Action Group, a school governor and being a member of the town’s first responders team.

A spokeswoman for the town council could not comment, other than to confirm a meeting had been called and the contents of the article would be discussed.

Mr Martin said: “I genuinely have no idea what it’s about. What I said was my experience as a councillor. It was about my time as a volunteer and how I’ve found it.”

He added that the article had been posted on Facebook and received 300 likes and 40 comments in support.

The meeting will be held in Silloth Community Hall at 7pm.