A FAR right party has come last in a council by-election in which a record number of people voted.

Chester-le-Street District Council has estimated that the result of the Chester North ward by-election is probably the highest ever voter turnout for a ward by-election in the country.

A total of 64 per cent of people in the Chester North ward in Chester-le-Street voted in the postal ballot, which was contested by the British National Party (BNP), Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.

The turnout eclipses the 55 per cent who voted in the council's first joint postal vote in May, which delighted the council's officers at the time.

Deputy Returning Officer Colin Turnbull said: "We are absolutely over the moon with this excellent result as it is possibly the highest voter turnout ever throughout the country for a by-election. Having said that, I want to thank the electorate for exercising their right to vote and showing the rest of the country how it should be done."

At the count last Thursday, Labour candidate Paul Ellis came first with 1,100 votes, while BNP secured just 170 votes, or seven per cent. The Conservatives polled 604 votes and the Liberal Democrats received 423 votes.

In the run-up to the by-election a coalition of trade unions, religious groups and political parties joined forces to form the Chester-le-Street Unites Against BNP group, to fight the far right party.

Leaders from Roman Catholic, Church of England, Methodist and United Reformed churches also took a joint stand, issuing a statement urging people to vote for candidates whose policies aimed to 'build a just and caring society.'

Mike Hartman, from the Tyne and Wear Anti-Fascist Society said: "The BNP has developed a one-size fits all campaign and assume they can go anywhere and stir up hatred against asylum seekers. The postal vote will have increased the turn-out, but I certainly think the anti-BNP campaign will have made an impact."

But the BNP said it still viewed its 170 votes as 'quite good.'

Its candidate was Scott Morrison, a married former soldier who fought in the first Gulf War and who now works as an IT specialist. He said he had campaigned on asylum-seekers and the Gulf war.

Mr Morrison, from Sacriston said: "We consider it to be quite a good result - it's our first attempt in Chester-le-Street."

The seat became vacant when Labour councillor Keith Lambert died in June. His successor, Paul Ellis, 44, who works for Go North East in Chester-le-Street, said he was impressed with the turnout, as was council leader Linda Ebbatson.

She said: "The turnout of 64 per cent is amazing. I see it as a really healthy response, not just for postal voting, but also democracy."