Who's that knocking at my door?

Over the next few weeks, canvassers will be calling at homes to encourage people to return the Register of Elector forms that had been delivered to more than 34,000 households in East Cambridgeshire. During October, canvassers working on behalf of East C

Over the next few weeks, canvassers will be calling at homes to encourage people to return the Register of Elector forms that had been delivered to more than 34,000 households in East Cambridgeshire.

During October, canvassers working on behalf of East Cambridgeshire District Council will be knocking on doors to help residents return the forms. For anyone who has lost theirs, the canvassers will also have a supply of blank forms.

Each canvasser will have identification which should be checked carefully by householders. Anyone who has doubts about the validity of the caller, however, should ring the district council on 01353 616214 or 616338 to check the canvasser is genuine.

Residents have until October 18 to check and return their forms. Anyone who does not meet the deadline may lose their to vote in local and national elections.

Everyone has a legal obligation to return the forms and failure to do so could result in court action. Last year, six households in the district were prosecuted for failure to return the information, and were each fined £100 and had to pay court costson top.

Eleanor Hoggart, District Council executive director for legal democratic services, said: "The annual canvass allows the council to update its electoral register, so that anyone eligible to vote in local, national or European elections can do so."

" We do not wish people to lose their chance to vote, or have difficulty with obtaining credit, because they are are not on the register - people still have time to get their forms back to us and I would urge them to do so"

For information about the registration forms, please contact Electoral Services at East Cambridgeshire District Council on: (01353) 616214/616338.