ABOUT half of Notts' councils are now on Twitter – sending news and information every day via the social networking website.

And councillors are now even "tweeting" live from council meetings so residents can find out about decisions just seconds after they have been made.

Twitter is a website that allows its users to send and read messages known as tweets.

Tweets are posts of up to 140 characters the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers, who are known as followers.

Nottingham City Council is leading the way among councils in Notts with more than 600 followers – which, includes Saltwater bar, Mecca Bingo in Beeston and even Devon County Council. Notts County Council has an impressive 330 followers.

One of the keenest tweeters is city Liberal Democrat Coun Alex Foster, who sends updates from meetings, such as: "Presenting a petition of 1917 signatures by local residents against the closure of Beechdale Library."

Coun Foster, who also tweets on his personal life, said: "I've been on Twitter for about two and a half years and I've been desperately trying to get other politicians to sign up. You vote us in every four years and you often don't hear much else. People don't know what councils do. Anything which shows people what it is we do can only be helpful, I've even been encouraging MPs to Tweet.

"I haven't set out to be a councillor that tweets, I'm just a person that tweets that's also a councillor."

Other councillors on the social networking site include Coun Katrina Bull of Nottingham City Council, Coun Richard Mallender of Rushcliffe Borough Council and Coun Richard Robinson of Broxtowe Borough Council, who said: "I have found it to be quite therapeutic, after a hard day's slog."

Aside from individual councillors, residents can also follow Nottingham City Council, Notts County Council, Rushcliffe Borough Council, Broxtowe Borough Council and Newark and Sherwood District Council.

The other district and borough councils in Notts are not registered – although some are considering it.

Councils announce their news on Twitter at the same time as they send it to the media.

Stephen Barker, director of communications at Nottingham City Council, said: "It's free, it's automated, it doesn't cost any staff time, there's an audience of people interested in what's out there. It's just another channel."

delia.monk@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk