A TOP watchdog has given a clean bill of health to Malvern Hills District Council after investigating complaints made against the authority by residents.

The Local Government Ombudsman has thrown out every one of the 18 official complaints made during the past 16 months, mostly about planning matters.

The complaints came from people throughout the district, including Malvern, Leigh Sinton, Hanley Swan, Severn Stoke, Upton-upon-Severn and Rushwick.

In most cases the ombudsman found there was no maladministration or injustice to investigate, while in two cases he ruled the complainants had not given the council enough time to put matters right.

He said one complaint about an obstruction in a road had been made about the wrong council, because the district council was not the highway authority.

"The ombudsman's decisions show that local people can expect openness and trustworthiness from their district council," said the council's strategic director Kevin Douglas, who is responsible for monitoring standards.

"We are delighted to have been given a clean bill of health in every case and it is testimony to the levels of good practice and the standard of services carried out by council officers."

However, he said that dealing with complaints involved a great deal of work, most of which had fallen on the shoulders of the planning service.

"This has put a lot of extra pressure on a group of officers who are already very busy and it can be quite a drain on them and their resources," he said.