TOWN Hall staff are on stand-by to deliver postal ballots for the elections if the Royal Mail is snowed under by the numbers.

Residents were supposed to start receiving their forms on Wednesday (May 26), but printing problems mean that they are only going out today (Friday May 28).

Mr Mark Sanders, Bury Council's chief executive and local returning officer, said: "If the Royal Mail cannot cope, and we think they can, staff will make deliveries tomorrow. We'll make a judgement on that today.

"There have been a few teething problems but they are not insurmountable, and thankfully we built some leeway into the system."

Mr Sanders was confident that the council would meet its target of getting forms to voters by Tuesday (June 1).

Electors will receive two ballot papers, one for the council elections and one for the European elections, both held on June 10.

The ballot papers should be completed in private and not shown to anyone else. Electors must also complete their Declaration of Identity, which should be witnessed by a friend and posted back with the ballot papers.

Mr Steve Leach, area general manager for Royal Mail, said: "We have put in place a dedicated team to ensure the process runs smoothly and have developed robust plans, following discussions with the Electoral Commission, local authorities and political parties. We are confident our experience in handling large mailings such as previous postal voting trials and the Census in 2001 will ensure we can fulfil our part in the electoral process."

Supt Warren McGuire, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "It is important the voters have faith in the postal system and we would like to reassure the public that a robust stance will be taken against anyone attempting to fraudulently influence the election."