PEOPLE living in the Pendle part of West Craven are being reminded to apply now for a postal vote - if they want to vote in the May elections and can't get to a polling station.

Elections will take place on May 2 for Pendle Borough Council and for a new Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner.

Andrea Mullin, elections and registration manager, for Pendle Council, said: “If you’d like to vote by post or by proxy this year and you haven’t already set this up, you’ll need to request this soon. “You can apply for postal or proxy votes for a single election on a specific date, a specific period or indefinitely but you must be registered to vote to apply.”

The deadline for postal vote applications is 5pm on Wednesday April 17 and for proxy vote applications it’s 5pm on Wednesday April 24.

Apply online at: www.pendle.gov.uk/vote; or from the council's elections office at Nelson Town Hall, telephone (01282) 661662 or 661919 or email elections@pendle.gov.uk Anyone voting on behalf of someone else as a proxy voter will need to bring an accepted form of photo ID.

Ms Mullin added: “Please send your postal vote back to us via Royal mail as soon as possible after you receive it. If you’re too late to put it in the post, you can take your postal vote to reception at Nelson Town Hall, but you must complete a short form or it will be rejected.

“You can’t hand in more than five postal ballot packs in addition to your own.”