SUNDERLAND residents are being urged not to miss out on their chance to shape key city services.

Four thousand residents were sent questionnaires recently, asking their views on a range of council services, from street cleaning to local transport and leisure facilities.

So far 700 have replied, and the city council is in the process of sending out reminder letters, urging the other 3,000-plus to do likewise.

Council assistant chief executive Peter Chapman said: "The results of our survey will be used to help the city invest its money where it really matters and we're very grateful to those who have replied already."

All replies will be treated in the strictest confidence and be used to monitor trends and compile statistics to compare with services elsewhere