A FIGUREHEAD of the community is looking forward to a new role representing the people of Winnington and Castle in Chester.

Hartford man Sam Naylor, chairman of Northwich Rugby Club and organiser of the annual Northwich Festival, is a new councillor on Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC).

Clr Naylor, standing for the Labour party, won the by-election for the Castle and Winnington ward on Thursday following the resignation of Amy Mercer- Bailey.

He won the town centre ward with 525 votes while Jim Sinar, standing for the Conservative party, won 418 votes.

Amos Wright, from UKIP, won 307 votes while Alice Chapman, from the Liberal Democrat party, won 80 votes.

The turn out was just 19.2 per cent.

Clr Naylor, a former police officer, said: “One of the most disappointing things about local politics is that it’s always a low turn out, particularly in by-elections.

“You get a much higher turn out when it coincides with a general election.

“When speaking to people on the doorstep the number that say ‘nah, I don’t vote, I’ve never voted’.

“I think politicians are one of the most distrusted and hated people and it’s how to address that, I don’t know.”

This is part of the reason why Clr Naylor decided to put himself forward for the seat.

“One of the reasons I stood in the first place was frustration for a long time in the local community because of decisions made at CWAC and years of frustration dealing with local government while pursuing issues like Moss Farm,” he said.

“I’m going to see it from a completely different perspective now.

“I’m looking forward to representing the people of Winnington and Castle.”

Labour candidate Martyn Delaney also won a by-election in Chester’s Boughton ward held on Thursday.

The political composition of CWAC is now 42 Conservative members, 32 Labour and one Liberal Democrat.

A by-election for Northwich Town Council’s Bridge ward, also prompted by the resignation of Amy Mercer-Bailey, was won by Labour candidate Stephen Kryger with 439 votes.

Jim Sinar, from the Conservative party, won 242 votes and Alice Chapman, from the Liberal Democrats, won 96 votes.