SILENCE was deafening when a town hall organised 'Your Listening Council' events for the public in Burnley, said Coun Gordon Birtwistle.

He said people voted with their feet at the Democracy Week events he attended - by simply not turning up.

He told the policy committee that at one West End estates meeting three councillors and six officers were left twiddling their thumbs as not a single person came to have a say.

And it was just as bad at the young people's discussion event, when councillors resorted to pulling in kids from a nearby youth club so there could be a meeting, he told the policy committee.

"It reflects a lack of interest and was a very sad affair," he said.

A town hall spokesman said one meeting failed to attract any residents, but it had been a particularly bad night following a thunderstorm.

The young people's meeting, supported by the youth and community service, had always been intended to involve youth club members, she added.

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