A LABOUR member has become the town's youngest councillor after winning the by-election for the Bruche ward of Poulton with Fearnhead Parish Council.

Cllr Josh Booth, 18, insists he is ready to deliver his fresh take on politics after being announced as winner of the four-way race when the ballot boxes shut late last night, Thursday.

The Warrington Young Labour chairman secured 202 votes to beat Conservative Howard Klein, who received 177.

UKIP's Trevor Nicholls got the backing of 79 residents and TUSC's Bob Taylor earned 55 votes.

The council has previously confirmed the by-election, which was called by UKIP following the resignation of Labour's Cllr Ian Johnson, would cost approximately £5,500, which will be recharged to the parish council.

A total of 515 ballot papers were received at the polls to give a 15 per cent turnout, meaning each vote came at a cost of just under £10.70.

But Cllr Booth, who is also Cheshire representative for North West Young Labour, is vowing to serve each of his residents 'in every way possible' and is already looking ahead to May's all-out election.

He said: "The campaign definitely could have gone better but I have learned a huge amount and I am ready to increase my share of the vote in May.

"I certainly couldn't have won this time around without the support of friends, colleagues and my family.

"My campaign was centred around not making promises to people on issues I didn't feel qualified to comment on.

"Instead, I told people that I would be consulting with them and listening to their concerns, rather than fighting for my own agenda – I think that message really resonated with people."

He also confirmed he will be utilising fresher platforms to give residents more avenues to get in touch.

And he admits he feared his age 'would work against' him.

"As well as making myself easily contactable through social media, I will be working with the Longbarn Residents' Association to ensure that it's easier than ever for people to speak with their parish councillor," he added.

"I didn't think that people would feel comfortable giving their support to someone so young but it actually worked in my favour.

"When I told people my age while out door-knocking they made it clear that they supported the idea of a younger councillor with new ideas and this wasn't exclusive to Labour loyalists.

"I found myself gaining support from former Tories after having meaningful discussions with them during my campaigning – I look forward to proving that they made the right choice."

3,422 were eligible to vote and two ballot papers were rejected.