ONE of two presiding officers responsible for a Swindon polling station which was besieged by a late rush of voters has insisted no one missed out on casting a ballot.

Jenny Selwood, who was responsible for the Abbey Meads polling station at the Tawny Owl pub, said that no one had to wait any longer than 20 minutes to vote.

And she added that one of the last people to vote before the ballot boxes closed was a Swindon resident who had flown in from Finland.

“Every voter who joined the queue before 10pm received the appropriate voting paper and was dealt with politely and pleasantly,” said Jenny, from Haydon View Road.

“There were only two polling stations, but to make it quicker the register for the Abbey Meads Station had been split into three, meaning there were three desks for the same station and voters needed to receive their voting paper from the correct desk according to their address.

“From 4.30pm onwards, there was a queue the length of the car park, but if anyone had joined it at any time they would not have waited for more than about 20 minutes.

“I would point out that from about 4pm, the staff had nothing to drink, eat, or time to go to the toilet but remained at their post to help the public.”

Jenny revealed that one man arrived at the polling station at one minute past the closing time of 10pm.

“He was allowed to vote as he had flown into Heathrow Airport from Finland at 8.30pm and rushed to Swindon by taxi. I thought he deserved it for effort,” she said.

“I have stood in queues for much longer times in order to buy football or theatre tickets and most people outside the polling station were understanding, with good camaraderie.

“I would agree, however, that there was congestion, as the same door was used for in and out.

“With two queues using it at the same time, it was difficult for voters, families with children, pushchairs, and people with dogs to exit.”

Her comments come after complaints from some voters who described scenes at the Tawny Owl on Thursday night as “more like the Third World.”

Megan Twisk, from Redhouse, described the arrangements as “a disgrace” and “badly organised” and asked why a local school wasn’t used instead of the President’s Room at the Tawny Owl.

“This is supposed to be a modern democracy. What I witnessed on Thursday evening was more like the Third World or images from Iraq,” she said.

And David Wright, from Oakhurst, who has written to the Electoral Commission to complain said: “We got ushered into the polling station which had four stations in a little room like a granny’s front room.”

Newly-elected North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson, who visited the Tawny Owl polling station, praised the election staff, but said the whole process of voting had to be looked at again in the future.

He said that both he and South Swindon MP, Robert Buckland, would pass on details of voters’ experiences in Swindon to those in charge of any future changes.