West Country councillor round up

In Devon:

A councillor was allegedly kneed in the groin by a colleague during an altercation over a parking space. 

Police were called to Church Hill, Fremington, Devon, following reports of a common assault. 

North Devon and Devon County councillor Frank Biederman confirmed he was involved and an investigation was "in the hands of the police". 

The second councillor has not been identified, however the BBC understands he is from North Devon Council

In Cornwall:

A Cornwall councillor who claimed to have been appointed an MBE was never awarded the honour and has now apologised unreservedly, saying he was the victim of an “elaborate and malicious hoax”. 

Terry Wilkins, Conservative councillor for Illogan, appears on Cornwall Council’s register and in all correspondence as Terry Wilkins, MBE. 

But the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, which oversees the honours system, said it had no record of Mr Wilkins holding an honour. ... 

It was only after being contacted by the newspaper recently that he said he looked into the issue and discovered he had been deceived by an “aggrieved ex-colleague”. ... 

The councillor has also told constituents he holds an Open University degree in social science, but that institution says it has no record of anyone by that name having enrolled on a course. His LinkedIn profile page says he has a 2:1 (pending) in Health and Wellness. ...

An Open University spokesman said: “Due to rare mistakes from our computer records we cannot 100% confirm that Terry Wilkins has never been awarded a degree at the Open University. 

“However, our records do indicate that nobody with his name has ever enrolled on a course at the university.”