SANDWELL cabinet member for children's services Councillor Simon Hackett has spoken of his delight of being cleared of "malicious allegations."

Earlier this year several complaints were made about the councillor concerning his mother's former council-home, an allegation of indecent exposure and a demand for a parking ticket to be cancelled.

Sandwell Council has now confirmed all allegations had been investigated and Cllr Hackett has been cleared of all wrongdoing.

Cllr Hackett said: 'These were malicious, politically motivated and untrue allegations.

"I am extremely pleased to have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the council and that this matter is now closed."

He added: "I’d like to thank my wife, family and friends and the residents in Friar Park ward where I am a councillor who have stood by me over these last few months."

A Sandwell Council spokesperson said: "In March 2016, the council's monitoring officer received a number of allegations regarding the conduct of Cllr Simon Hackett.

"The council has since carried out a thorough investigation into all allegations and can confirm Cllr Hackett has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

"There was no evidence of a breach of the members code of conduct and no further action will be taken."

He added: “The investigations were carried out in accordance with the arrangements for dealing with standards allegations under the Localism Act 2011.”

The first six months of 2016 saw an unprecedented level of upheaval at Sandwell Council.

On Easter Sunday council leader Cllr Darren Cooper passed away which led to a bruising subsequent leadership battle between Cllrs Steve Eling and Yvonne Davies (Cllr Eling won after the first poll ended in a dead heat).

There was also a High Court battle between the council and former deputy leader Oldbury Cllr Mahboob Hussain over the publication over reports into dodgy land deals and accusations of bullying, which the council eventually won.

Former Cradley Heath and Old Hill councillor John Tipper, who resigned his seat after helping expose corruption, said: "I'm pleased for Simon, who was incredibly dignified throughout this whole fiasco.

"These allegations were nonsense but it's particularly upsetting because Simon is the kind of politician that's thin on the ground in Sandwell - he works hard, cares deeply about his community and wants to use power to make people's lives better."