Resignation within days

COUGHLAN resigned as a Walsall councillor days after the paedophile sting film had been posted online.

Earlier in 2021, he had also bid to become Walsall’s Deputy Mayor, following the sudden death of his Labour colleague Harbans Singh Sarohi.

But this was blocked by the ruling Conservatives earlier, who cited his mental health struggles as the main reason.

In 2019, Coughlan said the pressures of being a senior councillor and the collapse of Palfrey Community Association, of which he was chairman, resulted in him suffering depression.

He was first elected into Willenhall North in 1995 and has successfully defended the seat on a number of occasions, the latest being in May last year.

During his career, he rose to become deputy leader and then leader of both his party and Walsall Council, which he was in charge of between 2016- 2018.

He stepped down as leader of the Walsall Labour Group in

2019 as a result of his mental health issues.