AN election error which left 14 ballot papers unstamped in the Cheriton Bishop Parish Council election in May has caused embarrassment to the principal local authority.

Mid-Devon District Council has apologised for the error but says the parish council election result must stand.

Only the parish election was affected by the mistake, not the district elections.

Fourteen ballot papers for the parish election on Thursday, May 1, were not stamped with the official mark, and the deputy returning officer was required to disregard them in the count. A total of 112 votes would have been rendered void because of the mistake.

Paul Edwards, chief executive of Mid-Devon District Council, acted swiftly, writing to the presiding officer, who admitted the error was due to a lapse of concentration on his part.

Mr Edwards confirmed to the parish council, that the law, as it stands, does not permit the calling of another election. Voters from the parish can only achieve this through an election petition and since this did not occur within the time limit stipulated, the result must stand.

In his letter to the council, Mr Edwards said: ?Naturally there is concern about a repetition of this unfortunate chain of events at the next parish election.

?I hope there will be no repetition of this type of incident within Mid-Devon. I have personally found it extremely embarrassing,? he added.

Mr Edwards said he appreciated that some electors may feel they did not have a representative parish council, and as returning officer for Mid Devon, he apologised to them.

The election for the eight seats on Cheriton Bishop Parish Council was a close contest. The returned councillor with the lowest number of votes was only three votes ahead of the nearest losing candidate.

The total electorate for Cheriton Bishop is 533 people, of which 272 had their ballot papers included in the count, registering a turnout of 51 per cent.