THE candidates for this year's local elections have been announced with voting taking place on May 2.

Wards which have two stars next to them mean the sitting councillor is not standing. The candidates with one star next to their name are the current councillors.

The nominations are:

Audley**: David Dawson D'Arcy (Lib Dem), Yusuf Jan-Virmani (Lab), Christopher Tattersall (Con)

Bastwell: Mohammed Hussain (Lab*), Hamid Khan (Con)

Beardwood with Lammack: James Hirst (Con*), Mehboob Osman (Lab)

Corporation Park**: Paul McGurty (Con), Kenneth McIver (Green), Ismail Patel (Ind), Bill Pickup (Lab)

Earcroft: Mary Leaver (Lab*), Brian Morris (Lib Dem), Jacqueline Slater (Con)

East Rural: Reginald Morgan (Lib Dem), Nigel Nuttall (Lab), Fred Slater (Con*)

Ewood: John Milburn (Lab*), Joseph Smith (Con)

Higher Croft: Frederick Gollop (Lib Dem), Jeffrey Stone (Con), Ashley Whalley (Lab*)

Little Harwood with Whitebirk**: Gordon Eccles (Con), Patricia McFall (Lab)

Livesey with Pleasington: Jessie Hickmott (Lib Dem), Andrew Thompson (Lab), John Williams (Con*)

Marsh House: Warren Lishman (Lab*), John Slater (Con), Christopher Thayne (Lib Dem)

Meadowhead: Alan Jones (Con*), Ronald O'Keeffe (Lab)

Mill Hill: Gail Barton (Lab*), Alan Dean (Lib Dem)

Queen's Park: Faryad Hussain (Lab*), Karl Turner (Con)

Roe Lee: Moira Dean (Lib Dem), Michael Law-Riding (Con*), Martin Talbot (Lab)

Shadsworth: Margaret Carus (Con), Tony Humphrys (Lab*), Donald Jepson (Lib Dem)

Shear Brow**: Michael Bamber (Con), Suleman Khonat (Lab), Imtiaz Patel (Lib Dem)

Sudell: Derek Brindle (Lab*), Roger Salton (Con), John Warren (Lib Dems)

Sunnyhurst: David hollings (Lab*), Stephen Simpson (Lib Dem), Thomas Threlfall (Con)

Wensley Fold: Graham Carter (Green), Peter Clegg (Con), Mohammed Khan (Lab*)

* = sitting councillor

** = sitting councillor not standing