A CANDIDATE in a Burnley ward plagued by proxy problems today claimed he had lost scores of votes because of incorrect advice from a council election officer.

Liberal Democrat Mozaquir Ali said he was taking legal advice and would call for the election to be re-run if he is defeated at today's fiercely-fought polls in Daneshouse.

The defending ward councillor and his supporters collected a record 800 proxy votes from people who agreed that because they were not available to vote today, party members could vote on their behalf.

He said workers collected proxies on the basis of a letter from a town hall election officer stating that they could use any number of proxies from close relatives including uncles and aunts.

Now council returning officer and council chief executive Roger Ellis has spelled out the law which excludes uncles and aunts from the list.

Coun Ali, who was elected by a handful of votes four years ago, personally registered to cast nine proxy votes today - but most of them are uncles and aunts and have been excluded from the polls.

Said Coun Ali: "We acted in good faith on the basis of advice given us by the town hall. "Many people are being excluded from having their votes registered today because of information given to us by the town hall and I am going to lose a hell of a lot of votes."

Police were called in to investigate by election officers in Burnley after the town hall received calls from people registered to cast proxies who claimed they had not given their permission.

There was strong police presence in Daneshouse today as voting got of to a brisk start in a ward which has the town's highest turnout at elections.

The Labour candidate in the two-cornered contest is Saeed Akhtar Chaudhary whose workers have collected 350 proxy votes of their own - the Burnley total of 1,150 is by far the highest in Lancashire.

Labour ward spokesman Coun Rafique Malik said the uncles and aunts issue was clouding other problems of proxy votes.

"The election has become a farce," he said.

One instance, he said, was that two under-sixteen year old brothers in Brougham street were not only on the register of electors, but the Liberal Democrats had scooped their proxy votes.

A Liberal Democrat spokesman said that once the mistake had been realised the proxy application had been withdrawn.

Burnley's deputy returning officer Tom Forshaw said the advice on uncles and aunts had been taken from the council's computer system and sent to the party.

The advice was wrong and the supplier had been informed and the election officer who sent it out had since left the council. Mr Forshaw said, however, that legislation on the issue was clear and the Liberal Democrats had the same access to the law as anyone else.

The proxy application form also sets out thepermissible family relationships and does not include uncles and aunts.

Meanwhile, voting at polling stations across Pendle got off to a brisk start with people waiting to cast their vote before booths opened.

In 17 of the 19 seats in the borough the ruling Liberal administration confident of strengthening its hold on the authority and Labour hoping for enough changes to make it a hung council.

The minority Tory group, which has just three members on the council, was hoping to increase its numbers.

Leading Liberal Tony Greaves said: "We're very confident of making gains from Labour in Nelson and entrenching our control of the council."

Labour group leader Councillor Azhar Ali predicted: "It will be a year when the Liberals suffer damage across the borough," while Tory leader Councillor Roy Clarkson said his group had "reasonable expectations".

In Rossendale polling also got off to a brisk start, with Conservatives and Liberal Democrats hoping to make inroads into the majority held by Labour which is defending 10 of the 12 seats up for grabs.

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