By politics.co.uk staff

A Liberal Democrat councillor has claimed he is being bullied by Labour councillors on Leicester city council.

Nigel Porter, the only Lib Dem on the local authority, claimed a line had been crossed after  one of his political adversaries pointed out how outnumbered he was.

"There's lots of us and only one of you, you ought to be careful," Labour's John Thomas was reported as saying by the Leicester Mercury.

Porter, who had been raising an issue about council contributions to members' pension schemes, walked out of the council meeting.

"I know there will always be a bit of rough and tumble in the council chamber and you need a thick skin, but it's like boxing. There are certain rules," he said afterwards.

"You can't go kicking people in the nuts.

"When they don't like what I'm saying or the questions I am asking to hold the city mayor to account, they turn into a rabble and just shout me down.

"They are like grannies at a wrestling match in the 1970s."

Thomas has subsequently apologised for the comment.

Porter has previously been the subject of concern from the only Conservative councillor, Ross Grant.

He had reportedly written to the city's lord mayor expressing concern about the Labour councillors' persecution of the Lib Dem.