THE mayor of Lyme Regis has apologised to single mothers following comments he made in last week’s Bridport News.

Cllr Lovell said that "morally-behaved" people should be top of the housing list after it was revealed that 20 per cent of all properties in Lyme Regis are second homes.

As of March 31 this year, there were 2,409 dwellings in Lyme Regis, of which 495 are second homes, equating to 20 per cent or one in every five homes. This has increased from December 2010, when there were 2,380 dwellings in Lyme, of which 409 were second homes, or 17 per cent.

Cllr Lovell said: "The current system denies local morally-behaved individuals the right to a home in their area of birth, they are pushed aside on pre-conceived ordained central government policies attached to the monies to build many of the affordable homes, using the term in the loosest possible sense.

“Everybody is aware that if you get pregnant you get accommodated, if you have drug problems you get accommodated, it is about time if you do the right thing by society you get accommodated and not ignored and left to fend for yourself.”

After a backlash of comments from residents on social media, the mayor took to Facebook to apologise for the remarks, and said he will “try to be more thoughtful” in the future.

He said: “I chose the wrong words to express my frustration with council housing lists with regard to try to get across my genuine belief that the people of Lyme Regis should get a fair housing deal.

“Apologies to all single mothers, many of whom I accept work hard to raise their families on their own, often through no fault of their own.

“I have nothing against single parents and I understand both men and women become single parents for all sorts of reasons. I also acknowledge the contribution they make to Lyme Regis.

“I will try to be more thoughtful with comments in the future.”