THE CONSERVATIVES were the big vote winners in Cheshire East at the European Elections.

More than one in three voters (36.4 per cent) within the local authority backed David Cameron’s party, to help the Tories win three of the eight North West MEP seats.

UKIP finished second with 16.7pc of the vote.

Labour polled a dismal 11.8pc, little more than double the support for the British National Party, which finished sixth with 5.5pc of the vote.

This was significantly less than their total North West share of electoral support, which was 8pc.

Cheshire East Council – the North West’s third biggest local authority – dealt with the biggest count in the region, with 93,920 votes cast. The next biggest was Manchester.

The turn out was also among the highest in the region at 33.4pc.

Council leader Wesley Fitzgerald called the support for the BNP "purely an objection vote" against the "disastrous" government and predicted it would disappear if the Conservatives won the next election.

"If the Conservatives get back in, the BNP will disappear," he said. "People don’t realise what an evil party they are.

"Overall the turnout is disappointing but expected. National politics has a bad name for all the reasons we know. But I am very happy with the Conservative vote."

There were 342 spoilt ballot papers in Cheshire East.

Overall across the North West, turnout was 31.9pc.

The Conservatives kept hold of their three seats, Labour were reduced from three to two, the Liberal Democrats and Ukip retained one seat each, while the BNP won a seat for the first time.

A Cheshire East spokesman said: "On the day of the European elections a holiday club temporarily prevented access through the main entrance of the building in an attempt to maintain child safety.

"Due to basic human error voters were asked to enter the building via a difference entrance for a period of less than an hour.

"As soon as the polling station officer was notified and visited the school the problem was resolved. Cheshire East fully apologises for this error."

POTENTIAL voters in Alderley Edge failed to cast their ballot in last Thursday’s European elections after the main entrance to the polling station was shut.

Staff at the Alderley Edge Community Primary School pollling station were forced to redirect voters from Church Lane to the Eaton Drive entrance from 8am on June 4 while the CAT school club took place. But several elderly and disabled residents found it difficlt to make the extra five minute walk and chose to abandon voting and go back home.

Angry resident Sheila Mackey, of Wilmslow Road, in Alderley Edge said she reported the situation to the returning officer after she met three residents who "gave up" and simply did not cast their votes because the extra walk was just too much for them.

She said: "When I got there people were walking away because they were too old or infirm to walk all the way round to the other entrance.

"It’s five minutes on foot depending on how quick you can walk, but for the elderley or disabled the extra walk down Ryleys Lane and then Eaton Drive is just too much."

ELECTED MPs

• Sir Robert Atkins, Sajid Karim, Jacqueline Foster (Con)
• Arlene McCarthy, Brian Simpson (Labour)
• Chris Davies (Lib Dem)
• Paul Nuttall (UKIP)
• Nick Griffin (BNP)

How the Cheshire East electorate cast its vote last Thursday:

• Conservatives – 34,097 (36.4pc)
• UKIP – 15,612 (16.7)
• Liberal Democrats – 13,669 (14.6)
• Labour – 11,022 (11.8)
• Green – 7,423 (7.9)
• BNP – 5,162 (5.5)
• Others – 6,593 (7)