LACK of interest from Barnton people has forced the cancellation of a Christmas party being organised for local residents.

The community event scheduled for this weekend is the second which Barnton Parish Council has cancelled in the space of six months due to poor support from local people.

The party was for older residents, and was due to be held at Barnton Memorial Hall on Saturday afternoon.

However only 17 tickets had been reserved for the event in three weeks.

The party was being organised by the parish council, and council clerk Phil Evoy said the event had been cancelled because of very poor ticket sales.

“We needed to sell 40 tickets to make a small loss, and we are disappointed by the response to the event from the community, bearing in mind that Barnton is one of the largest villages by population in the country,” said Mr Evoy.

A choir was due to perform at the memorial hall, the same choir which had been booked for another parish council-organised event in July, which was also cancelled because of the small number of tickets which had been reserved.

Only eight tickets were reserved for the tea at Barnton Pentecostal Church, which had been organised to commemorate the centenary of the start of The First World War.

Tickets for this Saturday’s Christmas party, which was due to take place between 2.30pm and 5pm, were £3.50, and had been available to reserve since the middle of last month.

The parish council had publicised the party on its website, and the festive event was due to include a Christmas quiz and a raffle.

The council had also offered help for people wishing to attend the party who needed transport.

Mr Evoy said the decision to cancel Saturday’s party had been taken on Monday, and there would be an article in the Tunnel Top newsletter in the spring 2015 edition about the issue of the poor support from the community to events organised by the parish council.

The newsletter is published three times a year, and is delivered to every household in the village.