A SUMMER date has been set for a second round of elections in South Lakeland, after a poor turnout from potential parish representatives led to four councils being frozen.

The election process in the parishes of Windermere, Lupton, Burneside and Pennington, has been put on hold until June 14, in the hope that enough candidates will step forward to keep the council's running.

Windermere Town Council was left in limbo earlier this month when only six people applied to sit on the authority - which usually boasts a membership of 20.

It was a similar story in Lupton, where only two candidates volunteered for the parish council's five seats, while a last-minute rush to fill in nomination papers left potential Pennington and Burneside councillors on the wrong side of South Lakeland District Council's deadline.

Claire Wheatman, SLDC's electoral services officer, said that "a few" people had since shown an interest in sitting on the threatened councils and urged anyone interested in standing to get their nomination papers in by the May 17 deadline.

"We have had a few phone calls from interested parties in the past week, so fingers crossed by May we will get enough candidates to form the necessary quorums," she said.

In the meantime the four authorities will not be able to hold meetings, make decisions or, in the case of Windermere, appoint a new mayor.