Liberal Democrat candidate Edward Charles (Ted) Reynolds has been elected to Andover Town Council after winning the St Mary’s ward by-election by the barest of margin.

Mr Reynolds won the election by getting just two votes more than the second-placed Steven Thomas Hardstaff.

While Mr Reynolds got 256 votes, independent candidate Mr Hardstaff received 254 votes.

Third-placed independent candidate Mark Llewellyn Farren got 104 votes.

Eight ballot papers were rejected - three for voting for more candidates than the voter was entitled to, one for identifying the voter and four for being unmarked.

The St Mary’s ward by-election was declared following the sad death of former town mayor and long-term councillor Barbara Long in May.

Mr Reynolds is a retired police officer who has served mostly in the local area.

He was born on the Isle of Wight at Freshwater to a farming family. He left school at 16 to take up an apprenticeship as a bricklayer-plasterer.

Due to the recession in the early 1970s and building work drying up, he joined the Hampshire Constabulary. As a constable he was first sent to Basingstoke and continued to serve at Eastleigh, Shipton Bellinger, Tidworth, Weyhill, and finished up at Andover.

He retired in February 2003 and then became a self-employed builder in Andover. He is married and have an extended family. He shares allotments with his wife at The Drove, Andover.

Mr Reynolds said, as a former beat bobby, serving the public is not new to him.

“We need to hold our councils and politicians to account. Working together we can change our communities for the better.”

He said crime and policing is a matter he feels passionate about and he emphasised o the requirement for “a better policing system which meets the needs of the community of Andover”.

Before the elections Mr Reynolds said there are a number of issues facing Andover residents.

“I know there are no quick fixes. However, with mutual co-operation we can work together to improve our community and our surroundings.

“I do feel strongly about our environment and the way forward for a better and cleaner way of living. Are we doing enough about our energy, where it comes from and how it is produced? Where are the solar panels on industrial premises? What happens to surface water from our roofs, especially large industrial premises, and can it be better used?

“I can offer a new perspective to problems from my past experience and pooling them together with your own thoughts will help improve what needs to be done. That is why I was happy to help deliver our Lib Dem Summer Surveys across Andover, and thanks to all of you who fed back your own ideas.

“Having been brought up in a rural community where wages were low, food production to feed the family was paramount and to that end I am a keen gardener and have allotments in Andover. The allotment tenants and the waiting list for allotments deserve better and I feel that an urgent overhaul is well overdue.

“Working with an established team as a Liberal Democrat will, I hope, lead towards a better understanding of the needs of you the residents.”