THE ELCTION for Chard Town Council's vacant seat has been suspended as coronavirus precautions continue to be rolled out across the country.

The public vote for Holyrood ward was set to take place in two weeks.

A spokesman for South Somerset District Council said: "Due to the safety of staff and electors at this present time with the current Coronavirus outbreak, Alex Parmley - Returning Officer, has taken the decision to suspend the election for one Councillor for the Chard Town Council – Holyrood Ward that was planned to be held on Thursday, April 2."

The election is now set to tae palce at a later date, once it has been decided it is safe to do so.

The SSDC spokesman added: "We’ll notify electors of the new date for the by-election. The notice of poll will be published at www.southsomerset.gov.uk/elections.

"We’ll need to discuss with Chard Town Council whether new poll cards are sent out, but we will do everything we possibly can to promote the new date of election.

"We managed to stop postal votes from being sent out to those who had registered to vote by post. When the by-election is rescheduled, we will send out postal votes to those postal voters."

Earleir this week, three candidates were revealed to be in the running.

They are Claire Brown (Liberal Democrat), Tim Eggins (Green Party) and Connor Payne (Conservatives).

After the announcement, Claire Brown said: "The Health & Well-being of local residents and our local campaign team is extremely important to us and we are pleased that this decision has been taken.

"Your local Lib Dem team will be available to support members of our community and will be doing every they can to support the most vulnerable."

Tim Eggins also responded to the news.

He said: "The present crisis has brought home how important it is to have community spirit and peoples lives are more important than any election. I will continue to work hard for the town and support those who need help."

Conservative candidate Connor Payne added: "I am pleased to see that the election has been postponed, in the interest of public safety.

"When a new date is in place I will continue to be the Conservative candidate, but in the meantime it is important we follow Government advice and do what we can to help others in our community."