A Conservative councillor faces investigation by his own party - despite apologising for website comments about his ward that made national news.
Thurrock councillor Neil Rockcliffe in Essex has apologised for any offence caused after he described the ward he represents as "Chaffrica" on Facebook.
On his page Cllr Rockliffe (right) also wrote that the area had all the criteria for the Eastenders TV soap, saying: “Scriptwriters must must live on Chafford Hundred it has has all the ingredients...murderers, rapists, concerned ethnic minorities, gay men etc, etc...."
Ironically the story came just days after Cllr Rockcliff had challenging Labour councillors on Thurrock Council, alleging they had a vendetta against Chafford Hundred, a huge conurbation of new homes developed over the past 20 years.
Cllr Rockliffe (pictured) said he had removed the posts but insisted that the reference to "Chaffrica" was a comment about his garden, and how overgrown it is.
He added: "The comment had been blown out of all proportion and taken out of context. It wasn't a public comment and I'm not a career politician."
Asked to respond to his references to "murderers, rapists, concerned ethnic minorities (and) gay men," the councillor said: "If you look at the date of the Eastenders comment on Facebook and the episode that went out that night, they were issues in part of that programme."
He said he did not know how the remarks could have got into the public domain but he said they had now been removed. He added: "I apologise for any offence caused."
Cllr Garry Hague, the leader of the Conservative group on Thurrock Council, said: "We are taking this extremely seriously, we will take whatever action is necessary."