THE counting officer for Wyre Forest has announced that there are more than 77,000 people in the district registered to vote in the EU Referendum on Thursday.

Ian Miller, the counting officer, announced today (June 20) that 77,875 people in the Wyre Forest are registered for the vote - an increase of 270 electors since the total announced on Friday, June 10.

This reflects the people who submitted applications to register shortly before the revised deadline of June 9 - as it takes time to confirm their identity for the inclusion on the electoral register.

Mr Miller said: "We currently have 77,875 people on the electoral register who are eligible to take part in the EU Referendum, and there may yet be a few very late additions depending on the process of checking under individual electoral registration.

"Anyone who has opted to vote by post should return their ballot papers without delay to arrive on or before Thursday, June 23.

"If they forget to post the pack in time, they can return it to any polling station in the district on the day.”

He added: "I encourage everyone who is registered to vote to take part in Thursday’s referendum.

"However it is now too late for people to register to vote, to register for a postal vote or to apply for a proxy vote other than an emergency proxy vote.

"Almost 80 per cent of postal voters have returned their postal voting pack already which suggests that turnout will be high.

"Additional staff are allocated to polling stations compared to the elections in May, and more are on standby if extra staffing resources are required during Thursday. If you’re voting at a polling station please take your polling card with your as it will help staff with the process.

"You may experience queues at busy times during the day – the busiest times tend to be between 7am and 10am and again from about 5pm to 9pm.

"If there are any queues at 10pm, anyone still waiting to vote will be able to do so.”