Around 100 Onchan residents, angered by the looming nine per cent rate increase, attended a requisition meeting held on Thursday night.

A presentation was given by the district commissioners in which they explained the large rise, saying the authority had a duty to remain solvent.

They were then grilled by ratepayers about their expenditure in areas such as Onchan Stadium and the building costs of Pennington Hall.

Village resident Allan Skillicorn, who helped organise a petition calling for the meeting, believes the hike could be a serious blow to those who are looking to stand again at next month's local authority election.

He says people who attended generally weren't impressed, despite the commissioners' explanations (audio file attached):

(Picture: The offices of Onchan Commissioners).