Cllr Hall threatened to have a BBC journalist's arms and legs broken.

Cabinet Member Brian Hall also said that should the BBC’s Simon Morris ever visit Ireland, he would not be coming back.

The National Assembly Ombudsman found that Cllr Hall made threats of extreme violence towards Mr Morris who had been attempting to question him for BBC Wales’ Dragons Eye programme.

Cllr Hall told a BBC executive and an AM last February that he knew people in Manchester who would break the reporter’s arms and legs.

The Cabinet Member with responsibility for the environment and transportation later tried to laugh off the threats claiming he had been joking, the BBC’s Huw Roberts and Glyn Davies AM reported Cllr Hall to the police.

The police did not take the matter further on the grounds of insufficient evidence but Mr Morris complained to the Ombudsman.

Mr Morris’ complaint was upheld and the Ombudsman found Cllr Hall had breached the councillors' code of conduct. He will now be reported to the council's Standards Committee, which has the power to suspend Cllr Hall for up to six months.

Pembrokeshire County Council has refused to comment on the Ombudsman’s findings until the Standards Committee has considered the report.