Thieves Steal Van Carrying 70,000 Ballot Papers Destined for Sussex

A van transporting thousands of blank ballot papers for next week’s general election has been stolen by thieves.

Over 72,000 papers were inside the van at the time it was taken in the London area.

The papers were set to be used when voters in the Hastings & Rye constituency in East Sussex take to the polls to elect an MP on May 7.

Metropolitan Police believe the papers were not the target of the theft, it was a mere coincidence.

But measures are being put in place so that none of the 72,300 stolen documents can be used.

A spokesperson for the Hastings Borough Council said: ‘We have been informed that a van was stolen overnight which contained the polling station ballot papers for the Hastings & Rye constituency (around. 72 300 ballot papers).

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‘We have been in touch with the Electoral Commission and following their guidance, we have put a process into place which will ensure that these ballot papers are not used for fraudulent purposes and cannot be included in the count.
 
‘We have also made arrangements for delivery of further ballot papers.
 
‘The Metropolitan Police have advised us that there is nothing to suggest that the van was stolen because there were ballot papers inside; it seems that it was a coincidence that the stolen van contained ballot papers.’

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