A LABOUR councillor who was forced to quit just 10 days after being elected because of an “honest mistake” has been re-elected following a new poll.

Leanne Kennedy, who was voted in for the Dawdon ward of Durham County Council on May 4, was told she was prohibited from standing for office because she was employed at a council-run school at the time.

Cllr Kennedy, of Seaham, said in a statement last month that she had been wrongly advised that she could maintain her appointment as a employee of the local authority.

The council said at the time it was believed to have been an “innocent mistake”.

The Seaham town councillor stood again after signing a declaration that she was now eligible to hold office on the county council.

Bobby Arthur, of the Seaham Community Party, who came a close second in the May 4 elections, also stood again.

Cllr Kennedy got 693 votes while Mr Arthur polled 633 votes in a by-election held yesterday.