Herefordshire Council says there is no alternative to a three-week take-over of a Leominster sports hall by an 'election army' of 200 paperwork handlers.

Easter holiday bookings for children's activities have been cancelled at the tennis hall, the largest building at Leominster's Bridge Street Sports Centre, to make way for white collar staff working on the county's first postal voting election.

"Herefordshire Council owns the centre and reserves the right to use it for election purposes," the electoral returning officer, council chief executive Neil Pringle, said after a dismayed sports coach contacted him to complain.

The council is to take over the building from April 14 to May 5. The Easter school holidays, when children flock to the centre for a variety of special activities, are from April 11-28

Said Neil Pringle: "The use of other buildings for the election has been investigated, including the possibility of using other council-owned sites and commercial premises, but no other suitable venue has been found.

"While we sympathise and understand that the use of indoor tennis court will inconvenience some users over the Easter period, the Bridge St centre is the only place suitable for the massive task of processing and storing of postal votes and ballot boxes.

"We need a secure premises which can accommodate a number of large ballot boxes, thousands of ballot papers and which can provide basic amenities for some 200 election workers.

"Local elections are held only once every four years and form a vital part of the democratic process."

Mr Pringle said the Halo Trust, the company that manages the centre, wrote to clients advising them two months in advance that the hall would be unavailable.

He added: "The date of the elections is set nationally and unfortunately the council's booking of the centre, in the three-week lead up to the May 1 election, will overlap with the holiday period.

"The May election is the first time in the history of Herefordshire that a new system of postal voting will be used and we are working hard to ensure it is a success.

"The aim is to enhance the number of people participating in local democratic process - the very process which plays a part in securing the provision of local services."