A PETITION that could have forced a council to ask its residents if they wanted a directly elected mayor has been declared invalid.

The petition had more than 4,500 names on it and took a year to collect, but it fell 79 signatures short, Darlington Borough Council said yesterday.

Of the 4,736 names on the petition, 849 were invalid, mostly because those named were not on the borough's electoral roll. To trigger a vote, the group needed signatures from five per cent of residents in the borough.

However, an elected mayor is still a strong possibility because councillors will now be asked to decide whether a referendum should take place because the petition was so close.

If the elected members vote in favour of a referendum at a meeting next Wednesday, it will be held on September 27.

If people vote for a mayor, elections would take place in May next year.

Last night, council leader John Williams said he would urge all councillors to vote in favour of a referendum because it "was only right".

Yesterday, a poll conducted by The Northern Echo revealed more councillors were in favour of holding a referendum. However, there were still enough councillors who said no and who had not made up their minds to tip the vote.

Of the 53 councillors entitled to vote, The Northern Echo managed to contact 40. Of those, 20 said they would vote in favour, ten said they would vote against and ten said they were still undecided.

Councillor Williams said: "Given the comparatively low number of invalid signatures on the petition, it is only right that this should happen.

"Then all sides of the argument, both for and against, should have the opportunity and the time to put their case to the people of the borough."

Yesterday, campaigners who had fought for a referendum said that if councillors voted against it, the Secretary of State would be asked to intervene and could force Darlington to hold a vote.

Harvey Smith, of the referendum group, said: "It looks like we will achieve what we set out to achieve, but I am not happy that such a large number were discarded."

Charles Johnson, deputy leader of the Conservative group in Darlington, said: "Arguing over 79 signatures is petty. My view is that the petition is legitimate and the referendum should go ahead. Politicians should listen to the will of the public."

Councillor Martin Swainston, a spokesman for the Liberal Democrat group, said: "It is disappointing something like that should fall so close. I think it should go ahead."

Councillor David Lyonette, who has spoken out against directly elected mayors in the past, said: "I have not made my mind up. If councillors vote for a referendum, we will be voting to spend £90,000."

Deputy council leader Bill Dixon said: "It will be festering for a long time unless we give people a choice.