A Ceredigion councillor has welcomed calls by the leader of Pembrokeshire County Council to have joint talks on the possibility of a voluntary merger between the two authorities.

Ceredigion voted to unanimously 'go it alone' and dismissed any moves to merge the two counties at the full council meeting last Thursday.

But now, former Cabinet member Cllr Gethin James, who voted with the council, says there could be merit in holding talks.

Pembrokeshire leader Cllr Jamie Adams voiced a change of mood within his county council.

. “It is now clear that Welsh Government intend to legislate to force reorganisation upon us” he said.

“While I do not agree that local government reorganisation is necessary, it would be foolish to ignore the fact that it is likely to happen.

“I intend to establish a cross-party working group of councillors to consider the merits of a voluntary merger with Ceredigion County Council."

His comments were welcomed by Cllr James - who was sacked from Ceredigion's Cabinet when he joined UKIP.

"We can't stick our head in the sand. Far better to explore how we can look at a business case for merger which would allow the two counties to keep their own identity."