HASTINGS has a new representative on East Sussex County Council following a by-election in the town.

The by-election took place following the sudden death in May of Labour member Cllr Jeremy Birch, who represented Old Hastings and Tressell Division on the county council.

In the election held yesterday (THU 9), Labour candidate Tania Charman took the seat, polling 961 of the 1,700 votes cast. The turnout was 22.5 per cent.

The total number of votes cast for each candidate was as follows:

Tania Charman (Labour) – 961
Robert Cooke (Conservative) – 368
Andrea Needham (Green) – 149
Sebastian Norton (UKIP) – 174
Stewart Rayment (Lib Dem) – 48