COUNCILLORS have been elected to fill two vacant seats after a resignation.

The small local election came after one resignation and requests that the resultant vacancies for a town and district councillor be filled.

Corinne Thompson, who was town and district councillor for Witham South for five years, left the council in March before moving to France with her husband, Steve.

Lorne Campbell, Conservative candidate, was elected to replace her as town councillor last Thursday with 465 votes after a turnout of 23 per cent.

Also standing were Paul Heath for Labour, with 349 votes, and Green Party candidate Stephen Hicks with 186 votes.

Mr Campbell, 43, of Millbridge Road, Witham, is a father of four and has been married for 22 years.

He has just been given the position of manager for Newlands Shopping Centre, which is run by New River Retail, and is CEO of Witham Boy's Brigade.

Mr Campbell, who has not yet decided how he will vote in the EU referendum, said: "I'm really pleased with the result and I'm eager to start serving Witham.

"The two big areas I want to concentrate on are business opportunities and community cohesion and I'm keen for Witham to celebrate that."

Gavin Maclure, Conservative candidate, was elected as district councillor for Witham South ward with 446 votes after a 23.04 per cent turnout.

Also standing were Paul Heath for Labour, with 376 votes, and Green Party candidate Stephen Hicks with 184 votes.

Mr Maclure, 37, of Braintree Road, a self-confessed Thatcherite, will be voting to leave the EU next month and wants to focus on housing and jobs.

He said: "I have been involved with the Conservative Party since 2003.

"I was a councillor in Ipswich between 2007 and 2011 before moving to Chelmsford for a bit to concentrate on my career as a project manager for BT and now Witham.

"I'm a fan of development, I wasn't shy about saying that, but it needs to be controlled.

"I was lucky that my parents helped me to get on the housing market but we need to build more houses because we have a major crisis.

"We also need more jobs outside of London because there aren't enough businesses being set up on land that's earmarked for industrial use."