A local council has launched a misconduct inquiry into councillor who used emojis to label his rival a "b***end" on social media.

Oxfordshire County Council member, Liam Walker, could face a formal reprimand after tweeting the imprecation in a row with Labour candidate Perran Moon.

The spat ignited on Sunday when Mr Moon goaded the 28-year-old Conservative councillor for tweeting from a charity dinner, accusing him of “self publicity” and labeling him a "#TypicalTory".

Cllr Walker replied with an emoji of a bell alongside another with a picture of an arrow and the word 'end' underneath, adding: "#TypicalSocialist".

Mr Moon has since written to the council’s monitoring officer saying the tweet was a “disgusting insult” and had damaged his “professional and personal reputation”.