A COUNCIL candidate said he was shocked to learn that he had been elected — hours before the count had even begun.

Red-faced bosses at Hyndburn Council have admitted that a technical error saw Tim O’Kane named on its website as the triumphant candidate for Clayton-le-Moors when the verdict had not been delivered.

The mistake went online at around 9am last Friday and was spotted by friends of the local campaigner who said he was called by several people to congratulate him.

He was later elected anyway in the counts.

He said: “I texted back that the count was not until 1.30pm, but was gobsmacked when a text came back saying it was on Hyndburn Council’s website.

"I checked and they were right.”

Hyndburn Council leader Peter Britcliffe said the confusion came about because of a mistake that saw a test page go live on the authority’s website.

He said: “Some of our test election results accidentally went live.

"I’m sure we weren’t the only council to make mistakes on election night.”