Parton Parish Council: Call for 'no confidence' petition council to stay

Parton is a small village on Cumbria's west coast

Hundreds of people have called for a council at the centre of a "no confidence" petition to be preserved.

Some residents have called for Parton Parish Council on the west coast of Cumbria to be dissolved amid concerns over how it is being run.

A petition with 165 signatures has been submitted by a group of villagers angry about the conduct of members.

But now a rival petition containing 300 names has urged local government bosses to "back off" the troubled council.

The request to disband the organisation is due to be considered at a meeting of Copeland Borough Council, the authority responsible for dealing with standards complaints, on 10 February.

'Leave us alone'

The borough authority has received 27 code of conduct complaints since May of last year.

But Robert Huck, chairman of Parton Parish Council, said: "Perhaps it is time for the borough council to simply leave us alone to get on with doing what we like to do - the best for our village."

A spokesman for Copeland Council said: "We have been notified that we can expect to receive a petition on Monday.

"Once we receive it, it will be considered in line with our procedures for considering all petitions received and put on the agenda for the next full council meeting."

Several members of Parton Parish Council have tendered their resignations since May's elections, with three resignations in August and another in September.