A Worcestershire man has started a social network to help local politicians connect with residents.

George Wilesmith says what sets Mapolitic apart is a lack of adverts and peace of mind that no data harvesting is going on.

“We’re a tiny company taking on silicon valley,” said Mr Wilesmith, who is from Broadwas, near Worcester.

The idea is that users are able to enter their postcode into the site and see their local councillors, MPs, elected mayors and more listed for them to see.

Mapolitic also allows politicians to log in and create their own profiles, giving them another way of engaging with residents.

“Most local authorities have councillors on there now including all of the local authorities in Worcestershire,” said Mr Wilesmith.

“All councillors from Malvern Hills District Council and Worcestershire County Council are on there now, and nearly 1,000 people have added their own profile.”

Mr Wilesmith said the inspiration for Mapolitic came when he had a driving job.

“I would drive through areas and wonder who the MP was for that area,” he said. “It got my mind racing about an easy way for people to find out, and then thought ‘what if politicians could also use it to communicate directly with residents?

"Mapolitic just does one really simple thing - it senses where you are and shows you who your elected representatives are.

"It also allows the elected representatives themselves to post information onto the site, directly to their residents.

"This makes it easier for people to take an interest in local politics because it negates the need to research which constituency/ward you live in and whether or not, for instance, you have an elected mayor or county councillor.

"Mapolitic allows the younger generation to take a productive interest in local politics without being exposed to the abuse, extremism, misinformation, advertising, data-harvesting and criminal activity that occurs elsewhere online.

"We hope that Mapolitic will encourage more younger people to take an interest in local politics and even inspire them to stand for election when they feel ready.

"We launched just over a year ago and there are already nearly one thousand elected representatives on Mapolitic. We'd love to welcome some more."

It’s certainly a busy time for politicians in Worcester, with all 35 seats on the city council up for grabs in next month’s local elections.

Worcester residents will also be voting for who they want to be West Mercia’s new police and crime commissioner.