Polling day isn't until Thursday, May 2, but voters in many villages already know who they are going to get on their parish council.

Of the 17 parishes in Maidstone due to go to the polls next month there will be elections only in two of them - Staplehurst and Yalding.

In all the others, there was either insufficient candidates or only just enough to fill the vacant spaces, meaning all those who put their names forward were considered automatically elected.

The first task of many of the new councils when they meet in May will be to scrabble around in a desperate attempt to find others to co-opt onto the council.

Bearsted is still five councillors short, Broomfield and Kingswood is two short, Collier Street two short, Detling one short, Harrietsham two, Langley two, Leeds two, Lenham two, Loose four, Otham three, Sutton Valence three, and Thurnham three.

Jerry Whitmarsh, a parish councillor for Linton, said: "It's a great shame and very sad that more people are not interested in trying to do something for their community.

"Perhaps it's the pressure of modern-day work routines. Perhaps it's the effect of social media; people feel more attached to their online community than the one they actually live in."

In Staplehurst, voters will have a choice. There are 18 candidates contesting the 15 seats. Of those, eight are standing together under the description Action For Staplehurst.

In Yalding, there are 10 candidates contesting nine seats.

Polling will take place simultaneously with the borough council elections.