Electors hijacked the annual parish meeting in Alderley Edge in a dramatic show of people power.

During a heated exchange councillors demanded residents stopped interrupting and Coun Frank Keegan shouted at residents to leave the table.

The council has until now used the parish meeting to update residents on the year’s progress.

Parishioners turned out to protest that it should be a meeting for residents to have their say on village issues, as in neighbouring parishes.

John Tomlinson said:  “This is not a parish council meeting, you have no more power here than we do.  It’s a meeting for the electors and we have the right to pass resolutions.”

They sat around the councillors’ table to make their point and demanded that councillors faced the audience to speak.

Former councillor Margaret Melrose said:  “This is a residents’ meeting and it would be nice if we could see your faces.”

Coun Keegan said:  “Would you please leave the table, this is for councillors.

“Don’t you dare tell me where the audience is.”

Chairman Mike Williamson said:  “I appreciate you coming along but there’s no point trying to snipe at people to score points.”

Mr Tomlinson asked councillors to change their standing orders to allow 20 minutes’ public speaking at every parish council meeting.

He said:  “There’s a democratic deficit in Alderley Edge.”

Councillors insisted they have never stopped residents speaking and are already changing their procedures.

In the parish council meeting which followed, Coun Mary Maczkowiak said the onslaught made her feel ‘extremely uncomfortable’.

She said:  “I didn’t like what happened here tonight, it’s not what I signed up for.”