CONSULTATION to discover how people would like to see their council run has been described as a shambles.

Liberal Democrat councillor Garry Huntington says the exercise has been a waste of taxpayers' money.

Sedgefield Borough Council distributed a leaflet which was supposed to go to every household.

It outlines three options the Government has said the local authority can choose from: a cabinet with a leader, a directly elected mayor with a cabinet, or a mayor with a council manager.

Problems with distribution meant that the deadline for returning the form was extended to the end of March, but Coun Huntington says it still did not reach every house.

He said: "There has been a slip-up here because a lot of them haven't been distributed, so people haven't had a vote."

Coun Huntington said council officials told him they were expecting only two per cent of forms returned and they did not have to follow any of the views expressed.

He said: "This is a total waste of time and taxpayers' money and it is not going to produce a satisfactory result - it's been a shambles in my opinion."

A Sedgefield Borough Council spokesman said the consultation had been advertised widely in the media and council newsletter and anyone who had not received a leaflet could request one from the council.

He said it was too early to say how many had been returned, adding: "The results are being independently analysed and a report will be compiled to go before the annual meeting of the council on May 25."