More transparency and better accessibility will come to council meetings with the introduction of a new smartphone application, it is hoped.

All town and parish councils in Essex will be offered the Audiominutes service free for a year after Essex County Council secured a contract.

It means that councils can broadcast live audio from meetings, as well as offer downloadable recordings afterwards.

Waltham Abbey town council clerk Kathryn Richmond said: “The subject of webcasting has been on our agenda for some time now but we couldn't find a simple solution like this.

“We… are looking to move forward with this soon.”

County council leader councillor David Finch said: “This new system requires no additional staff time, is good value for money and will provide further transparency to the democratic process.”

Epping Forest District Council already provides live and recorded video of many of its meetings, and will be upgrading to high definition cameras this month.