Gwynedd has become the first local authority to declare its support for Welsh independence.

Councillors backed a motion, with an overwhelming majority, in favour of Wales becoming a sovereign nation.

But a Liberal Democrat member, who opposes independence, said the move would be a “disaster”.

The council’s decision comes after at least 17 community councils backed similar motions.

Plaid Cymru councillor Nia Jeffreys put forward the largely symbolic motion at a meeting in Caernarfon on Thursday.

She said: “We’re facing a hard Brexit and are used to Westminster playing silly games while ignoring Wales. They (the Government) are putting their own party’s unity ahead of our economy. It would be easy to fall into a pool of despair but there is hope, there is a mood for change.”

While Wales has been politically aligned to England and later the United Kingdom since 1282, recent opinion polls have seen a rise in support for the idea of Wales breaking away.

Caernarfon is also set to hold a pro-independence rally on 27 July (tomorrow).

“We have our problems but surely we would be better off if we had a government that worked for Wales alone,” added fellow Plaid Cymru member, Mair Rowlands. “We need powers over our natural resources.”

Support for independence was not unanimous with Liberal Democrat, Stephen Churchman, claiming it had the potential to be “disastrous”.“We have no industry to speak of and our economy is in tatters,” he said. “We won’t get the same deal as we already have in the EU and we need to fight Brexit together.“I wholeheartedly agree with more devolution and autonomy, but independence would be a disaster. If Britain falls apart it will sink”See this week’s north editions for the full story, in shops and online now