A MOTHER claims the Deputy Mayor of Chelmsford shouted at her four-year-old son in a fast food restaurant before telling her to 'f*** off'.
Diane Goldhill, from Great Notley, has lodged a formal complaint against Cllr Sandra Pontin following an incident at McDonald's in the Riverside retail park in Victoria Road.
Mrs Goldhill's complaint, which alleges the newly-appointed Deputy Mayor shouted obscenities at her after telling off her young son for being too noisy, will be discussed at a meeting of the city council governance committee on Monday, July 21, where members will decide whether or not the incident should be formally investigated.
Deputy Mayoress Pontin, who was appointed to the role in May this year, denies the allegation against her and in fact claims that it was she who was sworn at in the confrontation.
"I don't want her to lose her job but just for her to understand what she did and that she really scared my son," said the 32-year-old.
"If someone is using their title to be able to tell people off I just don't think it's right, and they're not the sort of person that should be in that position."
It was during half term that Diane took her two children Rihanna, two, and Bradley, now five, to the Chelmsford McDonald's on May 30.
While she was queuing for food Bradley sat down at a table and was calling to his family to let them know he had found a seat when Diane claims she turned around to see a woman shouting at him. "I could see she had a really stern look on her face and that she was telling him off," she added.
"Bradley looked really upset by it so I told her she shouldn't be telling other people's children off, I told her she'd really scared him.
"Her reply was 'Well I am the mayor of Chelmsford City Council' so I responded well I will be certainly complaining about you and then she said 'f*** off'."
Diane then said she searched through pictures of the city's dignitaries online to discover the identity of the woman, discovering it was in fact Cllr Sandra Pontin.
She lodged a complaint against her with the city council within days.
"I am astonished that a lady of her age, position and stature being both Deputy mayor and a councillor would act in such a way and believe that her position gives her the right to do so," Diane added in her statement to the local authority.
However, Deputy Mayoress Pontin has denied shouting at the young boy during the incident and told officers she was only trying to "calm him" when he stood on a chair calling to his mother.
She also claims it was she who was sworn at during the incident and that she never mentioned her role with the council, but recalls she may have been wearing her city councillor badge which would have alerted someone to her position.
Members of Monday's governance committee meeting must now determine what action to take in regards to the complaint, and whether it warrants further investigation for a potential breach of the councillor's code of conduct.
