The Greater Manchester streets where life is 'hand to mouth' - but few believe voting will change a thing

It's not exactly like looking for a needle in a haystack, but finding someone who actually voted in the May 5 local elections in one Salford ward is not a million miles away. In Little Hulton, only 18.1 percent of people eligible to vote bothered to put their cross next to their favoured candidate.

To be clear, that's less than one-fifth of the electorate. So it begs the question why? On a visit to Little Hulton District Centre, just off the A6 on the road north out of Salford, is informative, members of the community describe their efforts to fight apathy.

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Like Geoff Millard, 73, who can often be seen sweeping up at St Paul Pee Parish Community Hall. "Trying to get people in Little Hulton to do anything is really difficult," he said.

"I don't want to be disparaging but we run a drama group here which stages productions. But the people who come and watch and participate are not from Little Hulton. It's like they're just not interested."

Geoff also lamented the lack of interest in the Spirit of Little Hulton Festival, an event designed to unite the local community and enhance people's health and wellbeing. "We ran things in [nearby] Peel Park, but once again the numbers that attended were relatively low," he continued.

"In the community hall we put on cinema nights where people could come and watch films on the big screen for very little money, but once again, after good start, the numbers dwindled to almost nothing."

But Geoff loves the area. "I will never give up," he said. "I am an optimist and I believe in the community. My heart is in Little Hulton."

His brother Harvey, 71, said: "It's like there's a malaise of apathy. It's not