The drastic move is an attempt to make Saltney Town Council meetings run more smoothly.

Controversial Saltney mayor, Cllr Klaus Armstrong-Braun, says it will be the first time a town council meeting has ever been taped in the UK.

He said: "Desperate times call for desperate measures. In times of crisis, leaders need to show leadership, and that's what I'm doing.

"My job is to resolve the problems we have been having for the good of the people of Saltney."

Cllr Armstrong-Braun was elected chairman of the Flintshire town council in May, but since then has faced strong criticism over his handling of meetings.

In July he overruled the council by adjourning the meeting, even though the majority of members wanted to continue.

Then, in a chaotic meeting in September, he refused to stand down despite councillors passing a vote of no confidence in him.

Last month councillors decided to refer a series complaints about him to the ombudsman, leading him to compare his opponents to 'wild bisons' and 'spoiled brats'.

The situation has got so bad that Barry Davies, monitoring officer at Flintshire Council, has agreed to attend the December 17 meeting equipped with a video camera. He will record the meeting and report back in the New Year.

It follows complaints that some councillors are failing to abide by the code of conduct and other council guidelines.

Mr Davies said: "The clerk is making arrangements for the meeting to be videoed with the agreement of the town council.

"The video can then be used as the focus of a workshop that we will facilitate for the town council."

Simon White, chief executive of One Voice Wales, which represents town and community councils, said: "While One Voice Wales is not aware of other councils having done this, we do think it could be a worthwhile exercise for the council and should help it to fulfil its role."