Looe could soon be severing its twinning ties with its Breton twin town of Quiberon which has spanned more than 20 years.

Lack of interest in twinning is the main problem, with fewer people wanting to join the association or help with the organisation.

The matter was discussed at the recent Town Forum and several comments from the floor voiced the opinion that anything to do with France was not popular at the moment, and this might be a reason for the lack of interest.

This drew a protest from other members of the audience and two parents spoke up in support of keeping the association with Quiberon.

They said it would be a great benefit to Looe's next generation to form links with different cultures to broaden their horizons.

They said there were more advantages than disadvantages to be gained from maintaining the link, even if only between the local schools.

A founder member of the Looe Twinning Association, Mr Roy Perriment, who has been struggling for some time to try and keep it going, addressed both the Town Council and Forum in the same week, asking for people to come forward who would be interested in reviving it.

'There have been good times over the years, especially in student exchanges and the Quiberon people have always been excellent hosts' he said, 'but now it all seems to be falling apart.

'We have had no contact either way for some time but I still feel there is some support. We need a couple of key people to come forward who are enthusiastic enough to revive it.'

However, Mr Perriment said that if no one stepped forward then it was only fair out of respect to Quiberon to inform them of Looe's decision to end the Association.

Harbour representative on the Forum, Colin Cotton, agreed and said that in his opinion if the Town Forum did not want to take it on then the twinning should be given up. 'It's an embarrassment' he said.

It was decided the matter would be brought before the Town Council once more, meeting on March 6, when a decision would be made.