SHIPLEY and Ilkley residents will now no longer able to register births, deaths and marriages in their home towns and will have to travel to Bradford or Keighley instead, it has been revealed.

City Hall budget cuts mean the one day a week opportunity which took place in both town halls has now come to an end, to the dismay of local councillors keen to maintain such services in outlying areas.

And in Ilkley, ward Councillor Anne Hawkesworth said it meant people suffering bereavement now had an extra thing to worry about.

"This is yet something else being withdrawn from Ilkley town hall and you could almost say it's the last nail in the coffin," Cllr Hawkesworth said.

"I would have thought that at such a sensitive and emotional time it wasn't too much to ask that the bereaved can register the death of a loved one within their own town

"The service was only one day a week and by arrangement in order to save money.

"Now the resident will have to spend money and traipse into Bradford at a time when they will have other things that need sorting out."

Cllr Hawkesworth (Ilkley, the Independents) said this was the latest in a line of cuts to Bradford Council's presence in the town

"There is a systematic reduction of services given to the residents of Ilkley," she said.

In Shipley Councillor Martin Love, Green Party, said he believed the problem began in Westminster.

"Sadly it just another example of how the Government's cuts to Bradford Council's budget have then led to its own cuts in services to the towns.

"We've lost our public toilets and our town manager and now its the ability to register births, deaths and marriages locally.

"And I'm not sure how much money this will actually save in the long run, as these things will still have to be processed by someone somewhere," Cllr Love said.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: "We currently attend Ilkley Town Hall one day a week to register births and deaths by appointment.

"Due to cuts in our budget we can no longer offer this service in Ilkley and Shipley.

"Our services are now available at The Register Office, City Hall, Bradford and the Town Hall, Keighley."