Police activity at football club disrupts polling

A non-league football ground will no longer be used as a polling station for Thursday's local elections due to police activity there.

Officers were seen at the Drewitt-Barlow Stadium, in Maldon, Essex, on Wednesday afternoon.

The ground, home to Maldon and Tiptree FC, had been due to host polling, but voters were told in a council Facebook post late on Wednesday evening that this had been changed.

Doug Wilkinson, deputy returning officer at Maldon District Council, apologised for disruption caused by "the very late change".

In a statement shared on the authority's social media pages, he said: "In light of an ongoing police investigation, I have made the decision to relocate the polling station from the Drewitt-Barlow Stadium to Blackwater Leisure Centre.

"Voters who were due to be voting at the Drewitt-Barlow Stadium will be re-directed to Blackwater Leisure Centre and we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause due to the very late change."

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