A parish councillor and long-time campaigner has been crowned the winner of a by-election.

Independent candidate George Crozer won Medway Council’s Peninsula seat with 46.6% of the vote.

The chairman of High Halstow Parish Council got 667 more votes than his closest rival, Harold Ogunfemi of the Conservatives who is a parish councillor on the Isle of Grain.

The poll, held yesterday, was called following the death of independent councillor Mick Pendergast, who was the landlord of The Nags Head pub in Lower Stoke.

Cllr Crozer beat six other candidates and will represent the ward along with Cllr Ron Sands (Ind) and Cllr Phil Filmer (Con). The result was announced just after midnight.

He has long been involved in campaigns to protect the environment on the Peninsula, including trying to stop development on the former Deangate Ridge golf course.

Turnout for the vote was 18.7%.

It comes five months short of a full council election.

Due to changes led by the Local Government Boundary Commission, two new wards – Hoo St Werburgh and High Halstow, and All Saints – have been created.

They are represented by three, and a single councillor respectively.

Cllr Crozer and Cllr Sands will be joined by Michael Pearce as independent candidates who will contest the Hoo St Werburgh and High Halstow ward in May.

Following his win, the 71-year-old said: "I hadn't thought it was a foregone conclusion or anything like that, so I was really pleased last night when the result came in.

"It was hard-fought and it was a lot of effort by the team and I appreciate everything that everybody on the team has done.

"The response I've got walking around has been really uplifting. I'm really pleased I've been able to speak to people and it's opened my eyes to a lot of things."

Asked what residents' issues had been brought up during his campaign, he said: "It's really the lack of amenity on the Peninsula.

"Certainly the doctors' surgeries have been talked about a lot and what will exacerbate that is the new development that they're talking about.

"For a long time we've been short of doctors and we've been shouting about that. The more houses that come here, the worse the situation gets.

"We have had loads of development in Hoo over the last five or six years, and there's been no extra amenity for that and it doesn't instil any confidence in local people that if we do get development, it's going to be supported.

"If they are going to build on the Hoo Peninsula, it's not £170 million, there needs to be a lot more than that. I just don't think it's possible or sustainable."

Medway Council is currently working out how it will support 12,000 new homes by 2043 using a £170 million grant from the government's Housing Infrastructure Fund.

Cllr Crozer also said people raised concern about the lack of public transport on the Peninsula, and how the number of sports and social clubs had been lost over the last 20 years meaning there was a lack of places to meet, adding: "I think that's one of the things we miss out here is somewhere we can go and interact with each other."