POLICE investigating alleged irregularities at the Burnley Council election vote have met with council officials.

Detective Inspector Dave Groombridge said it was a “serious” allegation but would not have affected the result.

As we revealed in the Lancashire Telegraph on Saturday, council chief executive and returning officer for the election, Steve Rumbelow, reported issues over votes cast in the Daneshouse and Stoneyholme ward.

Labour’s Shah Hussain was elected with 1,554 votes, ahead of Liberal Democrat Tahir Nawaz (1,071) and Conservative Philip Nutter (101).

Two Liberal Democrat councillors in the same ward were jailed for 18 months in November 2006 after they admitted falsifying postal proxy votes.

And Coun Hussain voiced his anger that the voting fraud had again tainted the ward.

Coun Hussain said: “Even thought we have had a great victory, this has let down the whole community.”