A PARISH council has dissolved itself indefinitely after a string of abusive phone calls and “disgusting” hate mail were received by members.

Carrington Parish Council announced its unanimous decision to “dissolve indefinitely” in a letter to residents, in which councillors claimed their homes have been watched.

Members said police have been informed before the “difficult” decision for all councillors to resign, on October 7, was made.

While there are no sitting members of the council, all operations have been handed over to Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council to manage indefinitely.

The letter read: “It was a difficult decision for all councillors to make, however over the last few months council members have been subject to anonymous phone calls, abusive phone calls, homes being watched, personal details being shared and disgusting hate mail.

“These incidents have been reported to police and are being monitored.

“The levels of vitriol that have been aimed at the council have caused an untold amount of stress and anxiety on all our members. Unfortunately it has reached the point that all the councillors feel their positions are no longer tenable.”

The letter added that parish councillors are volunteers who give their time and effort to try and better the community and thanked those who have offered kind words and support.

Members said: “It was hard work, and recently made no easier by the actions of people who believe that acts of intimidation and abuse are the way to implement change.

“No one should be subject to any form of hate campaign for trying to do their best. Like everyone else, councillors are people that have families and loved ones. Whilst abuse was aimed at councillors, the effect of these actions goes much further.”

A spokesman for Trafford council said: “We understand that all members of Carrington Parish Council have resigned from their positions.

“We recognise that feelings have been running high recently but we would ask everyone to allow discussions over the future of the Parish Council to take place in a positive manner.

“For the avoidance of any doubt, the public body which is the Parish Council has not been dissolved – it just has no sitting councillors at present. The task ahead is to secure the appointments of councillors to the Parish Council in order for it to be able to function once again.

“We fully support the principle of the residents of Carrington having access to local democracy through the parish council. However, the options available to us to support the parish council are very limited.”

Trafford council is looking into appointing interim parish councillors until an election can be held to secure permanent members.

The hope is this will enable Carrington Parish Council to function in the meantime.

They added: “We will continue to communicate with residents and will provide further details when we are able to confirm any additional information.”

Greater Manchester Police has been contacted for comment.