TWO councillors have stepped down from their roles - with one having served her community since 1987.

Anne Hall and Eric Morrell both stepped down as councillors for South Lakeland District Council at the end of July.

Councillor Hall still plans to better her local community in Coniston, after helping residents for over three decades and being part of the SLDC since 2000, a feat that saw her awarded an MBE in 2017.

“I believe it is important to keep the community alive,” she said.

“The people in these areas have the right to be represented properly. I have had a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered to me which was lovely.

“I think we can do more from the council and we have lost that grassroots connection.

“I am 78 soon and I have to think about my health and this has been affecting me recently.

“I will be volunteering for car park duties with the National Trust so I will still be involved in the community.”

The former district councillor fought for her ward's residents for years on multiple key issues such as housing.

Councillor Tom Harvey, deputy leader of the Conservative Group, said: “South Lakeland residents are losing two tremendous public servants with Eric and Anne choosing to step down as district councillors.

“Both have served their areas with distinction and will be sorely missed and its been my privilege to work with them both.

“The current system means our areas often have three or four councillors representing them.

“The best councillors like Anne and Eric work at grassroots levels and this bloated and unwieldy set-up causes confusion for residents and means its harder for councillors to engage and help their communities.

"I fear Anne just got to the stage where she felt she was sadly fighting a losing battle.”

Mr Morrell served as a Liberal Democrat in Grange from November 2015 and was the chairman of SLDC during his tenure and represented his ward well, with much respect from his fellow councillors and residents.

Councillor Giles Archibald, leader of the Lib Dems on the council, said: “Both councillors are obviously a great loss to the SLDC.

“I understand they had personal reasons for leaving, it is sad to see them go but I respect their decisions.”

Conservative county councillor for High Furness, Matt Brereton, added: “I understand why Anne has taken this difficult decision, but I will miss her nonetheless.

“I wish her all the best in future and I am sure she will continue to serve our local communities with distinction.”