Civic 'meet and greet' plans for a party of US visitors from Dartmouth's namesake town in Massachusetts will be scaled down after it was discovered that only four visitors will be turning up.

Dartmouth UK was expect more than 40 Dartmouth USA visitors to arrive this September for a five- day visit ahead of the American town's 350th foundation birthday celebrations which are going ahead on the other side of the Atlantic next year.

They were planning to lay on a special cream tea civic reception for the US visitors as well as find places for them to stay and sort out an itinerary of trips – which included a visit to the castle and a trip on the Dart.

But as town councillors looked at just how much they were prepared to spend on the US visit, they were told that the number of Americans due to arrive had plummeted.

Town councillor Felicity Smith said: 'I have had correspondence from Massachusetts saying that although they still want us to come over there next year, at the moment there are only four of them coming in September, out of a party which was going to be around 40.'

And she added: 'If only four come over, then we will be able to get a couple of people to show them over the town.'

The town council has been corresponding with the Massachusetts town for months now over the US visit.

The Americans even provided their own wish-list of things they wanted to see when they got here – which included the trip to the castle; the museum; a visit to the academy to try to sort out future education links; and a Dart cruise.

The US town also wants a party from Dartmouth to show up there next year to join in its birthday celebrations.

It has suggested the Devon party is taken on a trip around one of the biggest golf ball manufacturing plants in the world as well as visit a nearby fishing port and join in a Dartmouth Pride parade.

Dartmouth USA was settled in 1650 by Quakers trying to get away from the Founding Father Puritans in Plymouth who had turned up on the Mayflower in 1620.

The new town of Dartmouth officially incorporated in 1664.

With a population of more than 34,000, modern-day Dartmouth Massachusetts is almost five times the size of Devon's Dartmouth. Over the years the two Dartmouths have maintained fairly loose links, although a party from the US town visited here just over a decade ago and a local contingent of around a dozen people – including the then mayor Richard Rendle – visited the US town in 2001.

At the town council meeting town councillor Dave Cawley said it was a shame that so few US visitors were due to turn up.