Hundreds of uncounted North Lincolnshire local election votes found

North Lincolnshire Council said the election candidates had been told about the error in the Broughton and Scawby ward

More than 800 uncounted postal votes have been found following last week's local elections in North Lincolnshire.

A total of 864 votes for the election in the Broughton and Scawby ward had been found, but only after the result had been declared, the council said.

The law does not allow votes to be counted following a declaration.

It was a "genuine mistake" and the election outcome in that ward had been referred to the Electoral Commission, North Lincolnshire Council said.

Two Conservatives were elected in the ward following the election on 4 May, with around 525 votes each.

Labour came second with their two candidates gaining 367 and 355 votes.

Following the election, the Conservatives held North Lincolnshire Council, securing 27 seats, while Labour won the remaining 16.

'Strengthen procedures'

Peter Thorpe, the authority's returning officer, said it was "not an acceptable situation" to have uncounted votes.

"Candidates, agents and their wider teams work hard for people's votes and the residents of Broughton and Scawby ward should expect their votes to be counted as they intended," he said.

"I am sorry this did not happen. We do know this was a genuine mistake.

"We are working closely with the Electoral Commission to strengthen procedures and ensure all lessons are learned."

North Lincolnshire Council said it had informed all the candidates and told them the options.

Those options included issuing a complaint to the Election Petitions Office or making an application to the County Court under election law, it said.