VOTERS in a small village can call into their local for a pint and a vote on North Yorkshire County Council election day.

Locals in Wass, near Thirsk, will cast their votes for both the county and European elections held on June 4 in The Wombwell Arms pub.

The unusual move comes as Wass Village Hall, which would normally be used, was knocked down in March with a £135,000 rebuild planned.

Ian and Eunice Walker, landlords of The Wombwell Arms, are to allow a polling station to be based in the pub’s Poacher’s Bar.

It will be there from 7am until the poll shuts at around 10pm for the electorate to pop into cast a vote.

Mr Walker said: "The village hall has been demolished and they have not finished building the new one yet.

"We agreed with the village hall’s committee that we would take on whatever we could in order to help them out.

"Wass Women’s Institute has been meeting here since the hall was demolished and someone must have told Ryedale District Council about the arrangement.

"We plan to hold all of the elections until the hall is rebuilt and it’s very strange to have it in a pub but the only other place big enough would be St Thomas Church, Wass."

The pub is to get £120 for being a base for the polling station and Mr and Mrs Walker are to give the money to the village hall committee to help cover the rebuild.

Simon Copley, the district council’s election manager, said: "Using a pub to base a polling station in is not unprecedented.

"It complies with the necessary criteria for a polling station as they have a separate room which can be closed off."