PEOPLE angry at council cuts are hoping to invoke the spirit of giving tonight by singing carols at councillors.

Those turning up to the full council meeting at the Town Hall, Forest Road, Walthamstow, from 7pm, are due to hear the strains of Oh Come all Ye Faithful, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells and more.

But they are in for a bit of a surprise when they hear the lyrics.

Oh Come All Ye Faithful, for example, has been transformed into Oh Come All Ye Readers, which slams library policy and calls for the return of 250,000 books which have disappeared from the library catalogue.

"Oh come all ye readers, Shocked and disbelieving, Oh come ye, oh come to the incinerator," one of the verses reads.

One of the singers, Caroline Molloy, of the Save St James Library group, said she was hoping council leaders would re-open services as a gesture of seasonal goodwill.

"Last year the councillors quietly voted through the cuts, including the closure of St James St Library, just before Christmas, while voting themselves 30 per cent pay rise. People keep asking us what more they can do to help and we know lots of people have written to the leader of the council, but he doesn't appear to be listening. So we thought we would try another, more musical approach."

For the full story log on tomorrow.

OH COME ALL YE READERS

Oh come all ye readers,

Joyful and expectant.

Oh come ye, oh come ye to Walthamstow.

Library refurbished -

Might as well demolish it!

Oh where have all our books gone?

Oh where have all our books gone?

Oh where have all our books gone,

From Walthamstow?

Oh come all ye readers,

Shocked and disbelieving.

Oh come ye, oh come to the incinerator.

Buildings refurbished,

Books chucked out like rubbish.

A quarter of a million,

A quarter of a million,

A quarter of a million

Have gone to the tip!

Oh come all ye readers,

Angry and determined.

Oh come ye, oh come ye to the council hall.

Tell these barbarians,

Bring back our librarians!

And give us back our bookshelves,

And give us back our bookshelves,

And give us back our bookshelves,

And all our books!

Oh come all ye voters.

Looking to the future.

Oh come ye, oh come ye to the polling booths.

Stamp out the scandals,

Vote out all these vandals.

We want a better council,

We want a better council,

We want a better council,

For Waltham Forest.