CONSERVATIVE candidate Andrew Snowden has won the election to become the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner for the next four years.

The contest went to a second round after none of the candidates secured a majority of votes on first preferences.

Mr Snowden beat Labour's incumbent Clive Grunshaw, who has held the £86,700 a year job since it was created in 2012, by less than 10,000 votes.

The two were neck and neck on first preference votes.

The final vote gave Mr Snowden 181,354 votes to Mr Grunshaw's 172,362 after the remaining two candidates Liberal Democrat Neil Darby and the Reform UK Party's Mark Barker were eliminated.

Their second preference votes were then distributed amongst the remaining two contenders.

On the first preferences Mr Snowden received 166,202 votes - 44.8 per cent of those cast.

Mr Grunshaw secured 154,195 votes - 41.5 per cent.

Liberal Democrat candidate Neil Darby got 32,813 (8.8 percent) while the Reform UK Party's Mark Barker got 17,926 (4.8 per cent).

The turn out across Lancashire in the PCC election was 33.7 per cent.

The results were collated at King George's Hall in Blackburn,