TWO councillors who previously made headlines when they split from UKIP have now broken away again.

Tendring councillors Anne Poonian, of Walton, and John Chittock, of Clacton, have ditched the Coastal Independents Group to form their own new group.

It is their second breakaway in just over a year.

They said they decided to split to steer clear of group politics and point-scoring to help them concentrate on serving residents.

Despite saying they want to avoid being group members, the pair have formed the Tendring Independents group to make sure their voices are heard.

John Chittock, councillor for Bockings Elm ward, said: “Local voters put their trust in us to do the best we can for our areas.

“We are determined to do that. Forming a group will increase the chances of having our voices heard at council committee meetings because we will have more opportunities to do so.

“We will continue to support the current administration when they get things right but we will not be afraid to hold them to account and speak out when they get things wrong.”

Both were elected as UKIP councillors, but were part of a group of nine councillors who left to form a breakaway group about one year ago.

Of those nine, four decided to return to the main UKIP group.

The remaining five – including Mrs Poonian and Mr Chittock – resigned from UKIP and called their breakaway group the Coastal Independents.

The pair are now the sole members of the Tendring Independents after the latest split.