THERE were scenes of confusion at Bude and Camelford last Thursday, when the polling stations received each other's ballot papers by mistake.

The mix-up affected Bude South and Camelford polling stations, and meant that early morning voters in both areas were not able to cast their vote for their local candidates until the problem was rectified.

Although the council said the matter was sorted out at 9.30am — two-and-a-half hours after the stations first opened — a number of residents said they were unable to vote until around 11am.

Camelford Division candidate Julie Walters told the 'Post' she went to vote at Tresmeer and realised she was not one of the names on the form.

After contacting the elections officer, the information regarding the mix-up was broadcast on a local radio station and the correct papers arrived at the polling station at about 11am.

The error was the latest in a number of problems with ballot papers for local and Euro­pean ele­ct­ions in Cornwall.

Postal vote papers should have been sent out for the two elections on May 22, but by Monday, June 1 (three days before election day) 300 people had called Cornwall Council to say they had not received their voting slips.

The council said: "There was a mix up involving the ballot papers for the Bude South and Camelford electoral divisions which resulted in the wrong papers being delivered to these polling stations.

The error was discovered by electoral staff and immediate action taken to rectify the problem. The correct papers were restored to the Bude South polling station by 7.10 am, with the Camelford ballot papers arriving at that polling station by 9.30 am. This delay was as a result of the heavy traffic travelling to the Royal Cornwall Show.

"The Council is extremely sorry about this confusion and will be staging a full investigation into the cause of the error."