AROUND 200 people crammed into the Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre as the new Oswaldtwistle area council held its first meeting.

There was a lively two-and-a-half hours of questions, debate and presentations as councillors fielded questions from members of the public.

Issues ranged from the future of the post office at West End, CCTV on Union Road and traffic matters.

There was also a question about whether a sex shop was about to open in the town. Residents were assured that no such planning application had been received.

In a popular innovation, people were invited to stick pins on a giant map of Oswaldtwistle highlighting the area's "muck and faults" so council chiefs could focus on addressing concerns about fly-tipping, broken pavements and dog mess.

Area council chairman Peter Britcliffe, said: "I am absolutely delighted that so many people turned up to see local democracy brought back to Oswaldtwistle. A meeting of nearly 200 people shows that people really do care about local politics."

Area councils are part of a radical shake-up of local government designed to give people more of a say of what happens in their community.

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