EMBSAY Parish Council has got itself into hot water for writing out a cheque for £15,000 to Embsay School for improvements.

The matter is now being probed by standards officers and while phrases like "acting unlawfully" sound serious - and indeed they are - this is not a story of major, deliberate wrong doing.

Indeed, we feel some sympathy for the parish council. If a straw poll was taken, we suspect that the residents of Embsay would think of nothing better to spend the parish's money on than its local school. After all, it benefits the children of the Embsay and can only contribute to the village's social well-being. Of all the components identified as being critical to the functioning of any village a thriving school ranks above a pub and post office as indicative of a thriving village with a robust community.

But, rules are rules and Embsay's cheque for the not inconsiderable sum of £15,000 appears to be "ultra vires" - in other words the parish council had no power to spend public money in this way.

It seems odd that the council would have been quite within its rights to spend £15,000 on a slap-up party with free bar on gala day, or send an Christmas card and Easter egg to every resident.

This is no 'Donnygate' story of small town corruption and malpractice. This is a genuine mistake done with the best of intentions. We hope that a resolution can be found.