A WATCHDOG has criticised election officials for allowing up to 80 people to vote after polls had closed.

The Electoral Commission investigated complaints voters were still queuing at St Chad's Church polling station, Chesterton, when it was supposed to shut at 10pm on May 6.

Newcastle was one of 16 constituencies investigated by the commission over allegations of poor planning and management of polling arrangements.

The watchdog's interim report said: "Queues had built up during the evening of polling day, prompting the presiding officer to contact the acting returning officer for advice on what action to take at the close of poll.

"Approximately 80 people were still queuing to enter the polling station by 10pm.

"The acting returning officer decided to allow those who had arrived at the polling station before 10pm to be issued with a ballot paper and allowed to vote."

The watchdog said this approach was in clear breach of electoral law.

The report added: "Legislation and case law has established clearly no ballot papers should be issued after the close of poll at 10pm."

The report also laid the blame for problems across the 16 areas with local authorities and election organisers for picking inadequate polling venues and not staffing them properly.

It also said problems may have been made worse by parliamentary and local elections taking place simultaneously in some areas.

Electoral Commission chairman Jenny Watson said: "Returning officers in the areas affected did not properly plan for, or react to, polling day problems.

"That is unacceptable. People in these areas were badly let down and have every right to be angry."

However, she also said that the commission was pushing for the law to be amended to enable voters to cast their ballots if they are already queuing when polls close.

Newcastle Borough Council chief executive Mark Barrow, pictured above, who was acting as returning officer on election night, hit back at the commission, claiming its report did not reflect the circumstances of what happened.

He said: "I am really unhappy with the way they have phrased the situation which occurred.

"Everything had been going quite smoothly at St Chad's until about 9.15pm, when about 100 people suddenly turned up at the same time.

"We took a pragmatic approach to get people who were already at the station registered and let them vote.

"Interestingly, this is broadly what the Electoral Commission itself is now calling for, so it seems unfair to criticise us for doing that.

"They never asked us for the full details of what happened, but I will now be getting back to them to give a very firm response."