Barnsley councillor doubles win after vote counting error

The chief executive of Barnsley Council said the votes had been recalculated after the error

A councillor has more than doubled his margin of victory in last week's local elections after it emerged a box of postal ballots had gone uncounted.

Labour's Dave Webster initially polled 534 votes to take Royston Ward in Barnsley, but the missing ballots took his tally to 1,085.

In total, more than 1,000 votes for the ward were missed in Thursday's poll.

Sarah Norman, chief executive of Barnsley Council, said the incident was "unacceptable" and has apologised.

In a statement published on the council website she said: "The postal votes have now been counted, and the figures have been recalculated.

"The result has not changed. Dave Webster from the Labour Party is elected for the Royston Ward.

"This discrepancy in the number of votes and the declaration of incorrect figures is not acceptable. We're very sorry that this has happened."

Following the recalculation the results for the Royston Ward are as follows:

• Neil Fisher, Independent: 458 (difference 212)

• Jonathan Paul Hood, Liberal Democrats: 132 (difference 79)

• Macaulay Larkin, Conservative Party: 363 (difference 196)

• Dave Webster, Labour Party: 1,085 (difference 551)

All paperwork and data from the count is being made available to the Electoral Commission and to candidates and agents, Barnsley Council said.