BUDLEIGH Salterton councillor Steve Hall came top of the polls gaining more votes in last Thursday’s district elections than any other candidate in East Devon.

BUDLEIGH Salterton councillor Steve Hall came top of the polls gaining more votes in last Thursday’s district elections than any other candidate in East Devon.

Cllr Hall, now elected for a second four-year term, polled an incredible 1,900 votes - 60 per cent of the total turnout in the town.

This was amid the second highest turnout in the district at 60.7 per cent after the Ottery Rural turnout of 62.3 per cent.

Alongside Steve were elected two new councillors and fellow Conservatives.

Former mayor Tom Wright and Alan Dent were elected on the Conservative ticket with 1,290 votes and 1,392 votes respectively

They took over from Ray Franklin and Malcolm Florey who announced they were both not seeking re-election.

Another former town mayor Caz Sismore Hunt stood as an independent and came in fourth place.

She gained a highly respectable 938 votes which, ordinarily, in any other seat in the district, would have been enough to get elected.

In all, 2,998 Budleigh voters out of 4939 turned out to vote with the Greens making gains and candidate Miriam Brown gaining 676 votes.

She said that ‘showed that Budleigh residents were interested in social justice and the environment.’

While UK Independence Party candidate Graham Hooker gained 725 votes by tapping into the euro-scepticism of some residents.

Cllr Hall said: “I’m flattered to get such a clear mandate. It’s a real endorsement that all three Conservative candidates got in.

“We take this as a clear message about how people want Budleigh run.”

I n the Raleigh ward, which includes Otterton and East Budleigh, Ray Bloxham won the only seat which was uncontested and had no other candidates.

It followed Ann Liverton standing down to spend more time with her family.

Several town and parish councils did not require votes to be cast, as there were not enough candidates to force an election.

In Budleigh Salterton, Alan Dent, Lynda Evans, Stephen Hall, Mike Hilliar, Alan Jones, Chris Kitson, Richard Mitchell, Courtney Richards, Jack Sanders, John Shiel, Caz Sismore-Hunt and Tom Wright were returned unopposed.

East Budleigh, Otterton and Newton Poppleford all had uncontested elections.

In Colaton Raleigh, those elected were as follows: Simon Dupain 123, David Forward 169, Nicholas Higgins 137, Alan Jones 144, Peter Morrish 115, Christopher Pound 170, Lorraine Taylor 146 and Rowan Turnbull 176.

Raymond Hamilton received 95 votes and Mark Stoyle 107 but neither was elected to the council.