VILLAGERS born and bred in Wolverley and Cookley but turfed out because they cannot afford the house prices there are being urged to make their voices heard.

Residents need to convince members of Wyre Forest District Council that affordable housing is needed, said Nigel Addison, district councillor for Wolverley.

Mr Addison - who has delivered a survey to every home in the two villages asking if they want to see cheaper accommodation built - said the council did not recognise the problem.

A plan put forward by the council identifying where houses should be built in the district over the next 10 years failed to take into account either Wolverley or Cookley, he said.

But "there is a need" Mr Addison claimed.

He said: "One of the few council houses left in Wolverley had five families trying to get into it.

"I have been contacted by many young families, some in difficult circumstances, desperate to seek accommodation in Wolverley to be near their families."

He said the outcome of the questionnaire would serve to "convince the district council there is a need for such property" and sites could then be looked at which must "be used for people with connections to the village".

And the right to buy option - which allows tenants to seize ownership of their homes - should not apply to new properties, said Mr Addison,

Speaking to the Shuttle/Times & News after Wolverley Parish Council gave the green light to the Countryside Agency to carry out the survey, he said: "Because of the right to buy policy there are increasingly less and less properties to rent, especially in Wolverley.

"I can not stress how important it is for local residents to complete and return the survey, whatever their current home ownership status is."

For more information contact Chris Nicholls - Wyre Forest district councillor for Cookley - on 01562 850435.