Posties blamed for Bedford vote slip-up

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COUNCIL officers worked until 1am on Saturday morning re-issuing postal ballots for this week's EU referendum after a batch went 'missing in the post'.

Dozens of residents may miss the chance to have their say on whether Britain should remain in the EU after Bedford Borough Council's electoral services failed to acknowledge a batch of ballot papers had gone missing in the post.

Bedford resident Chris Gill said: "It's a shambles. People have a right to a postal vote for this historic referendum even if they are going away weeks before. Why have they left it so late?"

Another resident, who asked not to be named, said she had contacted the council earlier in the week about her missing postal vote but claimed staff refused to acknowledge the issue.

A council spokeswoman said: "All postal votes for electors in Bedford were despatched to Royal Mail between May 27 and June 11.

"It appears a small portion of the postal votes received by the Royal Mail on June 11 have not yet reached electors. The council has asked the Royal Mail to investigate this matter with the upmost urgency."

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said: "We believe that a number of postal votes have not arrived with recipients and Royal Mail is investigating this matter fully."