There are fears the parish of Crowan will effectively vanish if boundary changes are carried out as suggested.

The news has provoked outrage among Crowan's parish councillors, who are now calling upon all residents to fight the proposals.

It follows proposals by the Boundary Committee for England to split the parish between two electoral divisions when the unitary authority comes into being in April.

Residents in Leedstown and Nancegollan would be represented by one unitary councillor, who would also cover Breage and Germoe, while residents of Praze would be part of the Wendron and Sithney parishes.

The name of Crowan parish would not appear in the name of either electoral division. The parish would be divided into three for parish elections.

Councillor Linda Taylor, chairman of Crowan parish council, said the proposals went against the original aims of the unitary authority, to keep whole parishes together, adding: "We feel that the process was not transparent and want to encourage the community of Crowan to submit objections to these damaging proposals while there is still time.

"We want to work with the surrounding parishes on alternative proposals that would enable Crowan to remain as a distinct unit in one electoral division."

Chris Trevan, leader of a working group set up by the council to object to the proposals, said community groups used different parts of the parish to run events for the benefit of everyone - for example Praze Young Farmers Club were based at Leedstown Village Hall while residents across the parish were involved in Praze Village Show.

"We feel that this community integrity will suffer if Crowan parish does not have one clear voice to speak for it at the new Cornwall-wide council," he added.

Residents have until February 10 to contact the Boundary Committee, before the end of the consultation period. Letters should be sent to Trevelyan House, Great St Peter Street, London, SW1P 2HW or submitted through parish clerk Paul Maplethorpe at 61 Penponds Road, Porthleven, TR13 9LP.

Crowan is one of the oldest parishes in west Cornwall, with present boundaries believed to have existed since before 1291.