ONLY one in four voters bothered to turn out in the rain to elect the latest member of Pendle Council.

Shop steward Gary Rowland was elected Labour councillor for Marsden Ward, Nelson, after polling 577 votes.

The Liberals' Shaun White was second with 222 and Conservative candidate Geoffrey McCormick had 113.

The turn-out on a cold and wet day was just 26.2 per cent.

Councillor Rowland, 31, of Glenfield Road, Nelson, will fill the vacancy left by former mayor Len Atkinson, who resigned as Labour councillor earlier this year.

Labour were pleased to retain the seat and said it was a good sign for the forthcoming local elections on May 2. Fellow Labour ward councillor and chairman of the Nelson committee of Pendle Council, Councillor Azhar Ali, said: "We're extremely happy with the result.

"The Liberals put out a lot of leaflets during their campaign but it has not worked. It gives Labour the momentum for the May elections.

"We are confident of doing well."

Leading Liberal councillor Tony Greaves said: "There was massive apathy from the voters. We made modest progress."

Mr White will stand again in a month as a Liberal candidate for the ward, this time fighting for the seat being vacated by Labour councillor David Hawtrey.

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