No action after Dover mayor Neil Rix filmed 'snorting substance'

There will be no criminal action against Dover's town mayor after footage allegedly showed him snorting a substance in a toilet cubicle.

It comes after a 67-second clip was posted on YouTube in August showing Councillor Neil Rix telling an unidentified man: "Don't let anyone come ... shut that door.

"Don't want anyone seeing Councillor Rix doing this."

Mr Rix, who was made mayor of Dover in May, has denied knowing what type of substance he snorted or where the clip was filmed, describing the incident as "a few seconds of madness".

He said he had been the victim of a blackmail plot, and was pleased police had ruled out taking the matter further.

"At the end of the day, I was being blackmailed over it and it was a long, long time ago," he said. "It was before I was mayor or deputy mayor or anything else.

"Just a few seconds of madness after being coerced into something ... I'm glad it's over. It's a weight off my shoulders, to be honest."

The footage was apparently filmed six years ago but only recently came to light.

Mr Rix referred had himself to the district council's monitoring officer for a possible breach of the code of conduct, but refused to stand down as mayor.

The councillor said he now intended to concentrate on his mayoral duties.

"I have got a lot going on, I'm a very busy mayor," he said. "I have had a lot of support from everyone around me and everyone who knows me."

He added that he intends to give a statement to police about the alleged blackmail.

A Kent Police spokesman confirmed there would be no further action taken against him.

"Officers have carried out extensive inquiries into the circumstances of the footage and the investigation has now concluded with no offences being confirmed," the force spokesman said.

Mr Rix was born and brought up in Dover, where he founded a scaffolding and demolition firm.