Sandwell councillor Steve Melia charged with assault

Steve Melia is to appear before Dudley magistrates next month

A councillor has been charged with common assault after an altercation outside council offices, police said.

Labour councillor Roy Stephen Melia, known as Steve Melia, is accused following an incident outside Sandwell Council last year.

"We've charged a 75-year-old man with assault following an altercation on Freeth Street in Oldbury, Sandwell around 4pm on 7 December," police said.

Mr Melia is to appear at Dudley Magistrates' Court on 10 February.

He represents the Great Barr with Yew Tree ward, which he was elected to in 2010 and 2018, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The councillor, of Wednesbury, was nominated as Sandwell's Armed Forces Champion last year.

His first entry into local politics was as deputy mayor for Sandwell in 1986-87.

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