VOTERS have strongly rejected plans to install Greater Manchester's first London-style mayor in Bury.

Campaigners fighting Greater Manchester's congestion charge plans forced Bury council to hold a referendum after more than five per cent of the town's electorate signed a petition calling for one.

But just 18 per cent of the town's voters turned out at the polls yesterday - less then one in five.

 The proposals were last night defeated by a majority of 5,087.

 Voters were asked the single question: "Are you in favour of the proposal for Bury council to be run in a new way, which includes a mayor, who will be elected by the voters of that borough, to be in charge of the council's services and to lead Bury council and the community which it  serves?".

 A total of 10,338 people voted yes. The 'no' vote was 15,425. There were 28 spoilt votes.

 The result leaves the plans dead in the water.

 The council's administration - a leader with a cabinet of councillors  - will remain.

A 'yes' vote would have triggered a borough-wide mayoral election in October.

Today the group that called for an elected mayor and organised the petition, congestion charge protestors Manchester Against Road Tax, faced furious calls from Bury's senior politicians to foot the bill for the referendum - estimated to be £125,000.

Council leader Bob Bibby called it a 'ridiculous waste of tax payers'  money'.

He said: "I am delighted that the people of Bury have voted no and we can now get on with business as usual, looking after the needs of the people in the borough. This whole situation has been a ridiculous waste of the tax payers' money. It had nothing to do with congestion charging and I am glad that Bury residents realised the true meaning of the referendum and its implications."

Labour leader coun Wayne Campbell said the turn out indicated that the people of Bury were not interested.

The council has already indicated its objection to the congestion charge plans.

Coun Campbell said: "The public have made the decision and are supportive of the way we do things. We have got to welcome the decision.

 "Bury does not have the sort of money to pay for this and questions need to be asked about how we can go about recouping it."

Coun Tim Pickstone, leader of Bury's Liberal Democrats, hailed a 'great day for democracy in Bury'.

 An elected mayor would have led a cabinet of between two and nine councillors.

He or she would set the budget and council tax.

The campaigners believed that an elected mayor would have supported their anti pay-to-drive views and wield the power to kill off the proposals.

But coun Bibby stressed the referendum was waged on a single issue - congestion charging.

The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) will make a final decision on the proposals.

He said: "A directly-elected mayor in this situation would only have the same rights as myself - one vote on the AGMA executive.

 "To say a mayor would be able to have congestion charging abolished was not true."

 Voting was lowest in the two Radcliffe wards, were just 14 per cent of people voted.

Of the 25,763 people who voted, 12,500 cast their vote by post.

It is understood that there was a clear difference in opinion between the postal votes and those cast at polling stations.

Geoffrey Berg, the anti-congestion charge campaigner who organised the petition, said he accepted the result.

He said: "It is disappointing but I believe that it was the right response to the decision not to let the people of Bury vote on congestion charging in a referendum."

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