Value for money?

You sit through a few meetings, chat with the odd resident and then claim thousands of pounds in allowances. What could be easier?

A lot, according to Cllr Robert Lawton. He's the cabinet member with responsibility for environment and transport (a job worth £20,295 a year) and I'm shadowing him for the afternoon to see what we get for our money.

"Before I was elected, I thought being a councillor was equivalent to a part-time job, maybe less," he says.

"But I was completely wrong. It's definitely more like a full-time job and a hard one at that."

We're at the town hall where Cllr Lawton is ploughing through a pile of reports.

He's spent the morning launching the council's new green waste recycling service and dealing with numerous emails from officers, residents and other councillors.

I ask him why he wanted to be a councillor.

"I suppose I was just looking for something to do after I retired," he says.

"I had never been politically active but I used to run three factories for a major company and I was getting bored at home."

He tried working as a postman before joining the Conservative Party. He was then persuaded to stand as a candidate in last year's local elections and, when successful, was offered a cabinet position.

From part-time postie to politician in one fell swoop.

"I certainly never expected any of this," he says. "But I'm so glad of it because I love what I'm doing. It's hard work but I enjoy making decisions and helping people."

He relies on his fellow ward councillors to deal with the majority of residents' queries so he can concentrate on cabinet work.

But he doesn't get to duck out of his ward responsibilities entirely. You can't when your mobile number and email address are public knowledge.

"Dealing with emails takes up most of my time. If you have a short break you come back to absolutely hundreds of them. They take hours," he said.

It's then time to go to the town hall annexe for a meeting about the launch of the new night bus service.

Matt Callow, of Wilts and Dorset, explains their plans for a half-hourly service through the night to Iford, Charminster and Poole.

There's a brief discussion about the finer details before Cllr Lawton agrees to a six month trial period.

"I think this could work really well," he says.

The officers shuffle about and we're straight into another briefing. This time, it's an update on the Castle Lane roadworks.

On time and on budget is the message, music to Cllr Lawton's ears. "That's great to hear. Thanks for all your hard work so far," he tells the contractors.

We get in the car and drive to Baring Road, Southbourne, where Cllr Lawton meets recycling officer Georgina Lamb and hears how the delivery of the new green waste wheelie bins is going.

The next stop is Stourfield Infants School for an update on the council's crackdown on parents who park on school zigzags.

The afternoon is pressing on but there's just time for a drive round Cllr Lawton's West Southbourne patch and to pop in on local resident Sam Acton.

She has no hesitation in contacting her councillors whenever she needs to and thinks more residents should do the same.

"I don't think I ever had anything to do with our councillors until we needed their help in fighting a planning application," she says.

"But I cannot recommend it enough. The previous Liberal Democrat councillors were brilliant for us and now the new Conservative ones are as well.

"In my experience, councillors are good value but residents have to be proactive as well. It's no good just sitting at home moaning. Everybody should know what their councillor does and how they can help you."

It's a topic I raise with Cllr Lawton as we drive back to the town hall. With all the furore surrounding councillors' allowances, does he think he provides good value for money?

"Personally I think I do," he says. "But I didn't stand for election for the money. I honestly didn't have a clue how much councillors received.

"I understand the concern but I think it would be different if people realised the number of hours that councillors work.

"We had cabinet the other day and I was at the town hall from 7.30am until 8.30pm. That's not every day but it's not untypical either.

"You need dedication, commitment and enthusiasm to be a councillor and if you don't have those three things you will fail."

On that note, he heads back into the town hall to collect his post and sort through some more emails. His Friday evening will be spent reading a hefty report on urban flooding. Councillors, eh? Who'd want to be one of those?