CANDIDATES contesting the 2015 Herefordshire Council election have been confirmed.

Fifty three wards - drawn up by boundary changes - will be contested when the county goes to the polls on Thursday, May 7.

Each ward will be represented by a single councillor.

One ward, Kington, is unopposed.

The count for the council election will be held at Hereford Leisure Centre on Friday, May 8.

On a ward-by-ward basis the candidates are:

Arrow: Sophie Matthews-Paul (IOC), Roger Phillips (Conservative)

Aylestone Hill: Maggie Davies (Conservative), Marcelle Lloyd-Hayes (IOC), Angela Starling (Lib Dem), Ange Tyler (Independent)

Backbury: Graham Green (Conservative), John Hardwick (Independent), Vivienne Mary Southorn (IOC)

Belmont Rural: Tracy Bowes (IOC), Adrian Bridges (Independent), Mark Chester (Conservative)

Birch: Elaine Godding (Independent), David Harlow (Conservative), Jon Norris (IOC)

Bircher: Sebastian Bowen (Independent), Peter Denbeigh (Conservative), Neil Jeffery (IOC)

Bishops Frome and Cradley: Ellie Chowns (Green), Patricia Morgan (Conservative)

Bobblestock: Clive Butler (Conservative), Mike Francis (Lib Dem), Charles Nicholls (IOC), Gwyn Price (UKIP)

Bromyard Bringsty: Nigel Shaw (Conservative), Gary Swinford (Independent), Sue Turner (IOC)

Bromyard West: Stuart Dawson (Conservative), Alan Seldon (IOC)

Castle: Stephen Grist (Independent), Dave McAndrew (IOC), Clive Skelton (Conservative)

Central: David Hurds (Lib Dem), Patricia Paul (Conservative), Len Tawn (IOC)

College: Paul Andrews (IOC), Roger Goodwin (Independent), Matt Lane (Lib Dem), Brian Wilcox (Conservative)

Credenhill: Julia Blackshaw (Conservative), Bob Matthews (Independent), Darrell Meekcom (IOC)

Dinedor Hill: Peter Sinclair-Knipe (Conservative), David Summers (IOC)

Eign Hill: Hugh Brooks (Lib Dem), Tom Kennedy (Conservative), Cath North (IOC)

Golden Valley North: Moira Cotterrell (UKIP), Colin Lawrence (IOC), Philip Price (Conservative), Brendan Charles Treanor (Independent)

Golden Valley South: Ellen Pawley (Independent), Graham Powell (Conservative), Jessica Smith (Green)

Greyfriars: Paula Hawley (Conservative), Anthony Powers (IOC), Tim Price (unattached), Stephen Williams (Lib Dem)

Hagley: Michael Fitzgerald (Independent), Dave Greenow (Conservative), Paul Neades (IOC)

Hampton: Bruce Baker (Conservative), Sasha Norris (IOC), Angela Verley (unattached)

Hinton and Hunderton: Chris Chappell (Independent), Laura Hall (IOC), Jeremy Milln (Green), Kevin Tillett (Lib Dem)

Holmer: Sebastian Hope (Conservative), Andy Moorcroft (IOC), Andrew Round (Independent)

Hope End: Anthony Johnson (Conservative), Karen Waller (IOC)

Kerne Bridge: Simeon Cole (Independent), Paul Newman (Conservative), Caroline Utting (Lib Dem)

Kings Acre: Mark Mansell (IOC), Andy Swift (Independent), Anna Toon (Lib Dem)

Kington: Terry James (Lib Dem)

Ledbury North: Phill Bettington (Conservative), Liz Harvey (IOC)

Ledbury South: Matthew Eakin (Lib Dem), Emma Holton (Conservative), Terry Widdows (IOC)

Ledbury West: Debbie Baker (Conservative), Andrew Warmington (IOC)

Leominster East: Jenny Bartlett (Green), Elizabeth Portman-Lewis (UKIP), Wayne Rosser (Conservative)

Leominster North and Rural: Andrew Gibson (Green), John Stone (Conservative)

Leominster South: Robert Barton (Green), Peter McCaull (Independent), Craig Morgan (Conservative)

Leominster West: James Johnson (Conservative), Felicity Norman (Green), Clive Thomas (Lib Dem)

Llangarron: Cherry Morgan (IOC), Jane Roberts (Lib Dem), Doug Skeggs (Independent), Elissa Swinglehurst (Conservative)

Mortimer: Carole Gandy (Conservative), Vic Harnett (Independent), Alison Kay (IOC)

Newton Farm: Jacqui Carwardine (Lib Dem), Andrew Cooper (Conservative), Phil Edwards (Independent), Jamal Haider (IOC), Glenda Powell (Unattached)

Old Gore: Barry Durkin (Conservative), Val Lilwall (Independent), Charles Willis (IOC)

Penyard: Harry Bramer (Conservative), Chris Morris (Independent)

Queenswood: Pauline Crockett (Independent), Christian Dangerfield (Conservative), Robert Ruck (IOC)

Redhill: David Foster (IOC), George Mardle (Labour), Paul Rone (Conservative), Mary Springer (Lib Dem)

Ross East: Phillip Cutter (Conservative), Clive Hamilton (UKIP), Robert Hendrie (Lib Dem), Craig Morgan (Independent)

Ross North: Caroline Bennett (Lib Dem), Jenny Hyde (Conservative)

Ross West: Anthony Avery (IOC), Chris Bartrum (Lib Dem), Richard Mayo (Conservative)

Saxon Gate: Alison Davies (Independent), David Griffiths (IOC), Mark McEvilly (Conservative), Aubrey Oliver (Lib Dem)

Stoney Street: Carol Ann Protherough (Green), James Stokes (IOC), David Charles Taylor (unattached), Steve Williams (Conservative)

Sutton Walls: Kema Guthrie (Conservative), Mike Hughes (Independent), Jon Robert Stannard (IOC)

Three Crosses: Giles Blackmore (IOC), Jonathan Lester (Conservative)

Tupsley: Jim Kenyon (IOC), Archie Macleod (Conservative), Lionel Meredith (Lib Dem)

Weobley: Mark Cooper (Conservative), Mike Jones (Independent)

Whitecross: Gemma Fraser (Lib Dem), Bernard Hunt (Independent Group), Sharon Margaret Michael (IOC), Jenny Sheppard (Conservative), Richard Barrington Smith (UKIP)

Widemarsh: Polly Andrews (Lib Dem),  Amanda Suna Martin (IOC), David Sheppard (Conservative)

Wormside: Mark Bramwell (Lib Dem), Jon Johnson (Conservative), Jim Knipe (unattached), Paul Thomas (IOC)