Paulton election postponed following death of Tim Morgan

The Paulton ward election will now take place on a new date yet to be announced

A local election has been postponed after one of the candidates died.

Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) said voting would not happen in Paulton after the "sad death" of Green Party candidate Tim Morgan.

The council said all other ward elections planned for Thursday would go ahead.

Will Godfrey, returning officer for the council, said: "We send our condolences to Tim Morgan's family at this sad time."

He added: "Legally, we must now postpone the election in Paulton ward. I have contacted the other candidates and letters have gone out first class to notify all affected electors."

'Warm smile and kind nature'

The Green Party group on BANES published a Twitter statement at its "great sadness" over Mr Morgan's death and said it was sending its "deepest condolences" to his family and friends.

"Tim was an active campaigner and candidate for the party over the years and his warm smile and kind nature will be missed by those who were fortunate enough to have known him," a party statement added.

The council said new poll cards would be sent to all eligible voters once a new date had been set - which will be within 35 working days of the original polling date - with information about how to arrange a postal or proxy vote if people cannot attend.

Any postal votes that have already been sent in are no longer valid, and postal voters will be sent new paperwork, it said.

All the candidates set to stand remain valid, but nominations for others will reopen for a short period once the new election date has been announced.