A councillor reprimanded for an act of disrespect at a meeting of bowls enthusiasts has branded the 10-month probe into the minor infraction as "a waste of time and money".
Michael Jeal, who has served as a Great Yarmouth Borough councillor continuously for 38 years, has been the focus of a lengthy investigation which has cost the authority £2,500.
It followed a disagreement between him and another attendee at a Festival of Bowls committee meeting which ended in the Labour councillor kicking the complainant out of the room.
The Festival of Bowls is the biggest event of its kind in the UK, bringing hundreds of competitors each year to the town's seafront for a month of tournaments.
The incident last October spurred the lengthy inquiry, which has culminated in the senior Labour member being found to have shown disrespect to the individual, with the report being made public this week as punishment.
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Mr Jeal, who was first elected in 1986, says he hoped his apology afterwards would have brought an end to the dispute but the other individual insisted on making a formal complaint.
He said: "This has cost the council and taxpayers £2,500 for nothing more than for me to say I have apologised.
"Most people in this chamber know me as a hard nut but I am not as hard as you think I am and I was at the point of giving the whole thing up. But my friends looked after me.
"What has happened has happened."
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Mr Jeal also criticised the powers of the standards committee, saying it has "no teeth" due to being unable to suspend councillors, instead just allowing for investigations into complaints to take place.
"We need to do something about this. Some people go bonkers on it, like parish councils, and submit lots of complaints.
"It costs the council money that could be spent on better things."
Councillors noted the findings of the independent investigation at a full council meeting this week.
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