MORE than 18,000 households in Wyre Forest will be sent reminder letters after failing to check whether the electoral registration information is correct.

It is costing Wyre Forest District Council around £8,500 to send out the reminder letters to 18,600 homes in the district.

The original forms were posted at the end of July and asked residents to confirm or change their details - as part of the council's annual voter registration canvass which they are legally required to carry out.

The canvass is to ensure the register is up to date and the law requires residents to respond to the correspondence sent out. It also identifies any residents who are not registered so they can be encouraged to register.

The council is required to issue reminder letters if households have not replied within two weeks. It is also encouraging residents whose details have not changed, to confirm the information online, by text or by telephone.

Ian Miller, electoral registration officer, said: "Thank you to everyone who has replied to the original letter.

"We sent out 46,660 forms to households and we have had in the region of 28,000 - 60 per cent - returned.

"Responding as soon as possible really helps us to keep costs down and is a saving to tax payers.

"If you missed the original form, please respond to the reminder and if your details haven't changed, please let us know online."

Mr Miller added: "If people don't respond this time, we are required by law to send out a further reminder and if we still do not get a reply, we have to send officers out to knock on doors.

"This is a costly exercise and could be avoided if people were kind enough to respond sooner."

For more information, visit wyreforestdc.gov.uk/electoralregister.