NEARLY 5,000 polling cards telling people in Blandford where they can cast their votes in Thursday's local elections have disappeared.

The cards were sent out by North Dorset District Council on April 12 but have not arrived, and the council has been flooded with calls from concerned voters unsure what is happening.

Democratic services officer Sandra Deary said: "Royal Mail collected over 50,000 cards from us but 4,978 of those were not franked and sent out.

"We don't know what happened to them, they have gone missing somewhere between being collected here and the Royal Mail's franking machine."

The council is now sending out 3,500 letters to householders in areas known to be affected to let them know where to cast their votes.

Mrs Deary added: "What we really need to get across is that you don't need the polling cards, you can still go and vote."

Royal Mail has agreed to foot the bill for the postage on the letters and has launched an inquiry into the incident, although has not admitted responsibility for the mysterious disappearance.

Spokeswoman Sue Dakin said: "We are currently investigating a shortfall between the number of poll cards due to be received by us from the council and the total recorded number handled and franked by us for despatch around April 12. In the interim, as a gesture of goodwill, we are reimbursing the council's costs for first class postage of some 3,500 cards they say did not arrive."

Residents are being told to go to their usual polling stations, unless they are in Langton St Leonard's ward in Blandford, where the station is at Larksmead Recreation Ground, Ham ward in Gillingham, where those who normally vote at St Mary the Virgin School will vote at the town hall and Wyke ward, which is at Wyke Primary School.

Those who do not know where their polling station is can phone the council's democratic services team on 01258 484060.