ONE of the three candidates standing in the Preston and Littlemoor Dorset Council by election in the New Year could be facing a police investigation.

Mr Peter Dickenson, from Preston Road, who describes himself on the nomination papers as “Local Conservative” is alleged to have failed to declare that he works for Dorset Council as a lollipop man.

Any Dorset Council employment bars a candidate from standing, although, as in the case of Mr Dickenson the role is only part-time and does not give anyone in that position access to council IT systems.

Dorset Council has confirmed that a complaint has been made to the police about the alleged omission.

Mr Dickenson said on Wednesday that he was sure he had filled in the form correctly.

“As far as I was aware I filled in everything which was asked on my form. It all went through ok and in fact today I received my election pack,” he said.

Mr Dickenson said nobody from Dorset Council had contacted him about the matter and he had not heard from his agent, Caroline Nickinson, but would be contacting her for advice.

One of the legal options available is being barred from the election on January 11th.

In the register of members interests for Weymouth Town Council in May 2021, where Mr Dickenson is a serving councillor, he lists his employment as “Schools Crossing Officer.”

Said a statement from Dorset Council: “All administrative arrangements made by the Elections Team for the Littlemoor and Preston by-election have been carried out correctly, and the by-election is going ahead as planned on 11 January.

“We have been made aware of a complaint that one of the candidates is disqualified and should not have put himself forward for election. That complaint is in the hands of the Police. Each candidate’s agent has been informed of what we consider the legal position to be.”

The Council has told agents for each of the three candidates that it is not the role of the county’s Returning Officer, Matt Prosser, to take action and it is now too late for any of the candidates to withdraw.

The council’s legal officer, Jonathan Mair, has told the agents that the Returning Officer is, effectively, powerless to act at this stage and it would now take what is known as ‘a petition’ to a court to decide what should happen next.

Said Mr Mair in his letter to the agents: “Anyone who wishes to allege an election offence should contact Dorset Police themselves. The Returning Officer will not be making a referral himself but Dorset Council will of course cooperate with the police, including by confirming the facts as to Mr Dickenson’s employment position.

In the event that Mr Dickenson is elected and chooses to accept office it will then be for another candidate (or any four electors) to decide, through an election petition, whether to dispute his eligibility to have stood as a candidate. The Returning Officer is barred in law from bringing an election petition.”

The other candidates standing for the seat of the late Cllr Tony Ferrari, a former Conservative Cabinet member, who died in November, are - Steve Brown from the Labour Party and Simon Clifford, Liberal Democrat.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: "Dorset Police received a report on Wednesday, December 20 of a possible election offence in relation to the Littlemoor and Preston By-Election. Due to the nature of the report and in accordance with national guidelines, investigative activity will take place after polling day on Thursday, January 11 2024. We are unable to comment further at this time."