Conservative Simon Morgan has joined Maldon District Council after winning the Wickham Bishops and Woodham by-election - beating the Independent candidate by 200 votes.

Councillor Morgan received 361 votes in the Maldon District Council by-election last night (Thursday, 24 February) to beat three other candidates - Independent Lance Peatling, Lib Dem Colin Baldy and Labour's Matthew Wallis-Keyes.

The former solicitor is taking over the seat following the resignation of Karl Jarvis in January, a former Conservative but later non-aligned Independent councillor.

The by-election saw a low turnout, however, with only 23.4 per cent of the electorate casting a ballot.

The result means there are now 17 Independent councillors - of which six are non-aligned - and 14 Conservative councillors in the authority, which is led by newly-elected Conservative councillor Penny Channer.

Councillor Morgan, who has lived locally with his family for the past 22 years, said he felt "honoured" to be elected.

He added: "I look forward to doing my best for Maldon."

The Maldon Town Council by-election tonight saw a Lib Dem win, however, after candidate John Driver beat Tom Kelly by 183 votes to become the party's only member in the authority.

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The town's by-election saw an even lower turnout than the district, with only 18.04 per cent of eligible residents casting a vote.

Councillor Driver is a local school governor and worked in education for over 30 years, becoming a deputy principal at a further education college, before taking early retirement in 2018.

He received 391 votes in total for the Maldon West seat, following Peter Stilts' resignation from the role in January.

After his victory, Councillor Driver said: "I'm delighted that the Lib Dems now have a voice in the town council, and we hope to make a difference for the people of Maldon."

There are 15 town councillors across Maldon's four wards.

Councillor Driver will join Councillor Abdul Hafiz, Councillor Flo Shaughnessy, Councillor Andrew Lay and Councillor Mark Heard, who is also the chairman of the district council, as a representative of the Maldon West ward.

Maldon councillors are usually elected by public vote every four years, but the resignation of district councillor Karl Jarvis and town councillor Peter Stilts in January left the seats vacant - triggering the by-elections.

Here's the results in full:

Wickham Bishops and Woodham, Maldon District Council

- Simon Morgan (Conservative): 361

- Colin Baldy (Lib Dem): 80

- Tom Kelly (local resident): 208

There were two spoiled ballots.

The turnout was 18.04 per cent, or 601.

READ MORE:

- Who is standing in tomorrow's Maldon District Council by-election for Wickham Bishops and Woodham and why should you vote for them?

- Maldon Town Council wrestles with a wrestling issue