Not all residents east of the river are Barry supporters.

As Mr. Stephens spoke, he was jeered by jubilant Barry supporters chanting, "Who's next, Mr. Stephens?"

One Barry supporter, who spoke on condition that he not be identified, said: "Barry's doing what people do - going home to an accepting family when they're in trouble.

"He is always political," said Howard Croft, 53, a Barry supporter who is himself running for a seat on the City Council in a special election in April.

A few days after handing down the maximum sentence of six months, the judge infuriated Barry supporters at an appearance at Harvard Law School, his alma mater.

"I got my first job in one of his summer youth programs," said Darlene Chaney, a 28-year-old unemployed black Barry supporter.

In that role, he is the mostly likely candidate to pick up former Barry supporters.

In September 1997, he moved to League of Wales side Barry Town for a fee of £7,500, very quickly becoming a firm favourite amongst the Barry supporters.

Barry supporters insisted that he ran the city as well as anyone could in a tough era for cities.

Mr. Crawford, a long-time Barry supporter, said the indictment had destroyed most of the Mayor's remaining political credibility.