Chepstow is still on board the campaign against car parking charges - but only just.

It took the abstention of Liberal Democrats on Chepstow Town Council - in one of the most ill-tempered of debates in years - to pass a motion in support of continuing to back the campaign.

Lib Dems were concerned that following the action recommended by the campaign's solicitors would take the council further along the legal route than previously agreed and there would be difficulties in meeting the commitment to consult local people.

A motion allowing the mayor Armand Watts to attend a meeting this week with a barrister and campaigners from Abergavenny and Usk looked to be under threat but was saved when the five Lib Dems abstained.

The mayor's mandate is to agree to the first phase of action against Monmouthshire county council in which a judge will decide if there are grounds for a judicial review - and no further.

But the meeting erupted as Mr Watts first accused the Lib Dems of "weak-kneed" opposition and then told Matt Jones - a Lib Dem county councillor - that he had not attended enough meeting to know exactly what the town council had previously agreed.

There was confusion over exactly what was being proposed by the campaign's solicitors with the Liberal Democrats not happy that all their questions had been answered.

The letter from Pontypool-based Everett, Tomlin, Lloyd and Pratt to Monmouthshire council's head of legal services Robert Tranter states that unless by December 7 the decision to introduce charges is revoked and a public inquiry is held to decide if changes to parking arrangements should be made, an application will be made for a judicial review.

But it was a suggestion that the council pass a motion relating to court proceedings that had some councillors thinking they could be signing up for a long and costly legal battle beyond just getting a judge's opinion of whether they had a case.

Mr Jones said: "Recently the council has agreed £12,500 in unbudgeted (grants) expenditure and £4,000 unbudgeted expenditure already on this matter. We could be exposing the taxpayer to costs of between £10,000 and £30,000.

"There is no explanation of how we are going to match fighting this action and the budget and no proper thought on how we are to consult the public in seven days."

But mayor Armand Watts said he was confident they had a strong case and that the county council would back down in the face of fighting a judicial review.

He said: "This is the Goliath of Monmouthshire county council on the one hand and us on the other. We have to have the balls to stand up to this. "All this weak at the knees stuff is a bit belated. Some people may not understand exactly where we are because they have not attended all the meetings."