THE leader of Swale Borough Council has promised an investigation after hundreds of postal votes arrived too late to be counted in Thursday's borough and European elections.

Councillor Andrew Bowles (Con) said he was very concerned about the systematic problem that has been occurring all over the country with votes not arriving in time.

But a spokesperson for Royal Mail said that there had been no problems in the sorting office that would cause the delivery to be late.

Cllr Bowles said: "I am currently trying to get to the bottom of this and trying and find out exactly how many are involved."

He believed that 300 votes had arrived at the council's Swale House offices in Sittingbourne last Friday morning.

He added: "I find it hard to believe that 300 people, all from Swale, didn't post their votes in time."

A spokesperson for the council's chief executive Chris Edwards said that the late postal votes had not been opened and would be disposed of in accordance with the regulations.

Gordon Henderson, the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, has written to Mr Edwards calling for an inquiry.

He said: "If it is a case that it was the voters who had not posted them on time, then this needs to be proven. I just find it extraordinary that 300 people failed to deliver their votes all at the same time."

Cllr Bowles said he had concerns about three borough council seats which were lost by narrow margins. He added: "What if those votes were in the late arrivals?"

The wards include Queenborough and Halfway, which Jackie Constable (Lab) won against Tory contender Ken Pugh (Con) by just 42 votes.

At Iwade and Lower Halstow, Ben Stokes (Con) narrowly won the seat from sitting LIb Dem councillor Mary Goodger by 42 votes and in Abbey ward, Faversham, Anita Walker (Con) beat sitting Labour councillor Peter Salmon (Lab) by just 77 votes.

At St Michael's ward in Sittingbourne, Lib Dem councillor Brenda Hammond (Lib Dem) won by six votes from Susan Norris (Con).