More people from East Suffolk have said their postal votes have been delayed and they fear they may not be able to take part in the first ever elections to the new council.

The newly-formed council insisted it had sent them out and that any delay was due to the Royal Mail.

Among those who had an anxious wait was Anne Thomas who lives near Halesworth – she is a polling clerk and therefore needs a postal vote to take part in the election but it did not arrive until the weekend, despite the council saying votes had been sent out last Monday.

Other votes sent to voters in Kesgrave had also failed to arrive – and these problems came after a Felixstowe couple failed to get their votes before they left on holiday.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “It is disappointing to hear that some people have still not received the postal votes they requested and we are raising this issue with Royal Mail to discover if there has been a problem at their end of the process.”