A Gloucestershire parish council has got so few members it needs district councillors to sit in on their meetings to be able to function.

Bromsberrow, which is just off junction two of the M50 near the meeting point between Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire, has a population of 416 according to the 2021 census.

But the village, which is also spelt Bromesberrow, is down to just two parish councillors.

This means the parish council, the lowest tier of local government in England, is no longer quorate after a series of resignations has left them with five empty seats.

And they need at least three councillors to be able to hold meetings – so they are legally unable to act.

In such situations, legislation allows for the Forest of Dean District Council to appoint its members to the parish council to help them function while they find new councillors.

District Councillors agreed unanimously to do so at their full council meeting in Coleford on October 24.

And they decided for the councillors to be those who represent the nearby wards.

They appointed Councillors Philip Burford (I, Hartpury and Redmarley), Clayton Williams (C, Hartpury and Redmarley), Gill Moseley (LD, Newent and Taynton) and Gillian Kilmurray (LD, Dymock) to the parish council for a temporary period.

Councillor Burford told the meeting that Bromsberrow is “about as far from Coleford as you can get and still be in the Forest of Dean”.

“It’s a relatively small parish and about as north in the district as it gets,” he said.

“There are certain challenges in the parish. It’s actually got to centres on one side of the A417 you have the village hall church and primary school, while on the other side of the road you have Bromsberrow Heath where the majority of the housing is.

“The other feature of Bromsberrow Heath is they have a quarry, a sand pit.”

He said the parish council has struggled to retain councillors.

“There has been a steady stream of parish councillors who have contributed their bit but unfortunately the problem seems one of retaining them once they are there.

“Perhaps the same comment applies to clerks. I’m happy to support the paper, and happy to do my bit. We need to help them.”

Cllr Moseley said the situation of parish councils in her county division varies with some being very active and successful while others are barely functioning and not very representative of the population.

She said one of the problems is it is hard for people to stand for election.

“The co-option of members goes on and very often the character of the parish council does not expand because people will be co-opting like minded people or people they know,” she said.

“It does become an ever decreasing circle in some respects.

“Villages are hesitant to run elections because it puts one faction of the village against the other. It’s a bit of a minefield.”

Councillor Sid Phelps (G, Lydbrook) said the move to help Bromsberrow was a “no-brainer”.

“It’s an unfortunate situation to have to step in to rescue them. It’s not just a nice thing to support these parishes. Anything we can do we should.”

There is information here if you are interested in becoming a parish councillor in Bromsberrow.