Postal vote inquiry in city ward

Councillors have demanded a police presence

Police have been asked to investigate up to 100 postal vote "discrepancies" in a ward in Coventry.

The Coventry Elections Office called in West Midlands Police to investigate a number of cases in the Foleshill ward.

Coventry City Council said staff vigilance had led to the apparent discrepancies being spotted.

Foleshill is seen as one of the key wards in the local elections on Thursday. One-third of the seats on the council will be contested.

Police are considering keeping watch at polling stations in the West Midlands amid fears about vote rigging.

'Take action'

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said they had also uncovered 190 potentially illegal votes in one inner city ward in Birmingham.

Across Coventry, 26, 453 postal votes have been issued for the 2006 election.

Coventry Elections Office confirmed that 2,111 postal votes have been issued for the Foleshill ward, compared to 1,732 for the last local election.

Christopher R Hinds, Returning Officer for Coventry, said: "As a result of our vigilance we have found a number of apparent discrepancies in relation to postal votes in Foleshill Ward.

'Positive action'

"Numbers are more than 10 and less than 100. The matter has been referred to the police and they will need to decide their course of action. This process has not disadvantaged any elector."

Det Insp Simon Wallis, from West Midlands Police, confirmed the force was investigating "potential discrepancies" in the Foleshill ward.

"What the police have said all along is that where we find evidence of fraud we will take positive action," he said.

"Clearly we are able to work alongside election staff on Thursday to help explain any perceived discrepancy if not before."