THE future of two Tory councillors arrested over vote-rigging allegations is still uncertain.

Bury councillors Bob Bibby and Jim Taylor were given police bail until Tuesday this week (Aug 29) while detectives investigated claims of misconduct during May's local elections.

The police have not extended bail, but the Crown Prosecution Service is still to decide whether to bring any charges.

The men were arrested in July at Manchester Airport as they stepped off the plane bringing them back from Woodbury in America.

Police were looking into allegations concerning campaigning at old folks' homes in Moorside ward, which Coun Taylor won from Labour in the May 4 poll.

Coun David Higgin, leader of the Conservative group on Bury Council, said that the men would carry on with their duties as normal.

But he felt sympathy for the two councillors because the matter was still rumbling on. The men were in the public eye and ought to be dealt with quickly, he said, because of the toll it took on them and on their family and friends.

Detective Sergeant Derek Bamber of Bury CID said: "Bail has been cancelled pending the submission of a full report to the Crown Prosecution Service into the vote-rigging allegations.

"It is then envisaged that the matter will be passed on to a specialist before any decision is taken by the CPS over whether to prosecute the two councillors."