May we please take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for UKIP in the County Council elections and the Bromsberrow and Dymock by-election on May 2? This is the first time that UKIP have had candidates in the Forest of Dean Divisions of Gloucestershire County Council and we are naturally very pleased with the success of all of our candidates, elected or not.

We would also like to thank all the UKIP members and supporters who helped in the campaign. Without their help we could not have expected to be as successful as we were in getting our message across.

During the campaign several local issues were brought to our attention and we will be doing our best to try and resolve these during the next few months.

Finally we would like to thank the Forest of Dean District Council staff for organising the election and the count on the night so efficiently, retaining a sense of enjoyment even at 3am on Friday morning.

– Cllrs Alan Preest, Richard Leppington, Colin Guyton, Simon Roberts and all UKIP candidates, Ruardean.