A former Braintree schoolboy has become Essex County Council’s youngest councillor at the age of 22.

Conservative Stephen Canning, 22, narrowly beat Labour candidate Lynn Watson by just 97 votes to take the Bocking ward back from UKIP.

The former Tabor Science College pupil was already one of the country’s youngest district councillors having been elected to represent Bocking Blackwater in May 2011 when he was just 18.

He said: “I’m very pleased and glad all the hard work has paid off. I’m now looking forward to representing the people of Bocking.

“What I love is that the two constituencies are very complimentary so what it helps me do is help people on a wider range of issues.

“One of the biggest issues in the area are the local schools- people want to ensure their children are getting the very best education they can.

“As a county councillor I will work alongside the district council, Parliament and all parties at various levels to make sure that parents understand and are involved in what is going on.”

The full results were:

  • Stephen Canning (Conservative) 1071 votes with 34.3% of the vote
  • Lynn Watson (Labour) 974 votes with 31.2% pf the vote
  • Michael Ford (UKIP) 855 votes with 27.4% of the vote
  • John Malam (Green Party) 165 votes with 5.3% pf the vote
  • Peter Sale (Independent) 58 votes with 1.9% of the vote

There was a 22.89% turnout.

The election was triggered by the death of UKIP councillor Gordon Helm on Christmas Eve.