AN annual survey to reveal what residents of Ferryhill think about their town may be scrapped after less than three per cent of forms were completed this year.

Ferryhill Town Council sends out surveys to all homes in the area and 8,056 were delivered - but just 73, or 2.5 per cent, were completed and returned.

It asks what people feel about the services provided by the council, Durham Police and the local bus companies.

The authority pays £300 per year to use the Survey Monkey site which helps with all of its surveys. This particular survey also cost £600 to print and distribute.

One of the completed surveys is chosen at random for a competition draw with a £50 prize.

In the Ferryhill village and Dean Bank area of 3,462 people only 33, or 0.9 per cent, were returned.

Only 35 people, or 0.9 per cent, of the population in the Broom area sent in forms while in Ferryhill Station 742 were sent out and only five, or 0.7 per cent, returned.

This is not the lowest ever return rate for the survey as one year only 66 completed forms were sent in.

Derek Snowball, clerk to the council, said: “A working party is looking at different ways of doing this including working with the schools and pupils.

“It could be that in future years we put a survey online where it can be answered at any point to see if that improves the uptake.”

Councillor Brian Gibson, of the FAIR party, said: “It’s ridiculous to keep this going. It’s disappointing that so few people have responded.

“We in the FAIR party feel that the time has come to draw this to a close.”