A PRESIDING officer who helped oversee Bolton’s successful General Election count last week has criticised people who failed to get their vote in on time.

Hundreds of would-be voters in areas including Manchester, London, Sheffield, Liverpool and Newcastle were prevented from casting their votes because of long queues.

But there were no such problems in Bolton, where more than 200 workers manned polling stations from 7am until 10pm last Thursday.

Michael Richards, aged 69, from Bromley Cross, was a presiding officer in Breightmet and helped voters at Blackshaw Primary School polling station.

He said those who ran out of time had only themselves to blame. He added: “I got back home at 11.30pm to see people whining on TV that they’d been deprived their right to vote because someone had closed the polls on time.

“For as long as I can remember, there have been busy elections — but nothing like this has happened before. I find it incredible that 15 hours is insufficient for people to organise themselves to vote.”

An investigation into incidents around the country where people were unable to vote by the time polls closed at 10pm has been pledged by the Electoral Commission.

Bolton Council chief executive Sean Harriss said Bolton’s efficient election count was testimony to the hard work of his army of staff.