A HOTEL which had to cancel a special offer when it was asked to take on the role of a polling station had a quiet day after all yesterday.

The owners of Walworth Castle Hotel, near Darlington, had no idea of the site's history as a voting venue until after it had offered visitors a chance to get away from the election.

Guests were offered a chance to stay in election-free rooms without television or radio, and there were bans on discussions about politics.

But Rachel and Chris Swain, who took over the hotel last year, were given a shock when they were asked to take on the election role.

Everyone who had booked the offer had to be contacted and told it had been cancelled.

The castle is a regular polling station for the villages of Denton, Walworth and Houghton le Side, with 167 people eligible to vote there.

But by 4pm, only about 30 people had shown up to cast their vote.

Mrs Swain said: "We are really quiet. We had to cancel everybody. It is a shame really.

"I think about 150 people vote here, but there has not been that many people turn up, to be honest."