A 50% cut in a county council budget for community work, has been slammed as letting down deprived areas of Crewe and Nantwich.

Councillor Maureen Grant said she was filled with 'disappointment and dismay' when she heard Cheshire County Council was slashing its community development budget.

Mrs Grant, director of the West End Project, said: "When I broke the news to them they were horrified.

"The board instructed chairman Henry Palin to write immediately to the county council chief executive to make him aware of the damage this will cause to the good work the board has carried out in the six years of its life.

"Our first thought was for the Our House Community Association, which over the past nine months has helped more than 800 people."

She also criticised the way the council handed out the £141,000 to various projects across Cheshire, saying it does not take into account the most deprived areas.

Cllr Grant added: "The budget for workers has also seen a huge cut in the amount to be spent on community workers - the West End is already without a youth worker.

"The county and borough councils have recently signed up to the partnership working in 'neighbourhood renewal'. Where is their commitment to this work now?"