RIBBLE Valley Council has launched a new Twitter account to help keep residents informed.

Emergency information, such as disruption to services caused by bad weather, will now be tweeted from @RibbleValleyBC, as well as the usual channels.

The council will also be re-tweeting gritting updates from Lancashire County Council, plus information about changes to refuse collection over the festive period and events and activities during school holidays.

Ribble Valley Council chief executive Marshal Scott said: “98 per cent of councils are using some form of social media and three-quarters of the population now have an active Facebook account.

“There are a wide range of benefits to the use of social media, including building digital relationships with residents, providing real-time customer service and service improvement through immediate feedback.

“We are delighted to be using Twitter, alongside our traditional communication channels and it goes without saying that residents are still invited to pop in our reception, phone or e-mail, anytime they wish.”