While some people might have forgotten, or never known there were local elections in Swindon today, there was no mistaking the interest in Broadgreen.

Around a dozen supporters of both Labour and Conservative candidates gathered outside Broadgreen Community Centre in Salisbury Street, which was being used as a polling station for Central Ward.

There was no suggestion of any trouble, even though the presence of the supporters drew a flying visit from the borough's returning officer Susie Kemp to make sure there was nothing untoward.

The presiding officer at the polling station said: “I have asked people displaying posters and rosettes to stay outside the boundary of the polling station, including the car park, and apart from a few infractions, they have complied.”

Co-incidentally, both South Swindon’s MP Sir Robert Buckland and his Labour challenger at the next general election, Heidi Alexander, were in the area, as they visited polling stations and party committee rooms geeing up their respective party workers.

Sir Robert said: “I was on my rounds and came by. There’s no issue at all here.

"It shows that this is a closely contested seat. We took it last year, and we’re looking to do well again.”

Ms Alexander said: “It was a total coincidence I was here at the same time as Robert. This isn’t a problem at all.”

Central Ward has long been a Labour stronghold but one of its seats was won by the Conservatives last year on an otherwise good day for Labour, and clearly both parties were very keen to get the vote out in the area.

Those voters and all others at polling stations across 19 wards would have had to take voter ID with them to be able to pick up a ballot paper.

After a long campaign to inform the public, Swindon’s returning officer Susie Kemp was cautiously optimistic after a few hours of voting. She said: “We have had a couple of reports of people asking whether they could show a picture of ID on their phone, and they were told our staff had to see the original document, but they said that was no problem at all.

“As returning officer, it is my job to make sure that everyone who wants to is able to vote, and the staff here at the council have worked extremely hard, supported by the local press and radio, to get the message out about voter ID.”