Merseyside, former metropolitan county, NW England. Created in the 1974 local government reorganization, the county embraced the Greater Liverpool metropolitan area and comprised five metropolitan districts (metropolitan boroughs): Wirral, Sefton, Liverpool, Knowsley, and St. Helens. The Merseyside county council was abolished in 1986, and the districts became responsible for all services except police, fire, and civil defense, which are supervised jointly. It remains a ceremonial county under the Lieutenancies Act.
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