John Bastin has been elected as the new Cornwall Council representative for Constantine, Mawnan and Budock after pulling in almost half the votes at Thursday's by-election.

Mr Bastin, a Conservative who is a member and former chairman of Budock Parish Council, polled 1,431 of the 3,005 votes cast - equating to 48 per cent of the total. Coming in second place was Rowland Abram, Liberal Democrat, with 434 votes; Chris Kinder, UKIP, was third with 416 votes; Adam Crickett, Labour, came in fourth with 384 votes, leaving Charlotte Evans, Mebyon Kernow, in fifth place with 340 votes.

First elected as a parish councillor in Budock in 1995, Mr Bastin became vice-chair a year later and went on to become chairman, a post he held for 16 years until he stood down last year. He remains a member of the council and now adds Cornwall Councillor to his titles.

He said: "I think this is a great opportunity to have an influence on the future of Cornwall. My aim is to put the views and concerns of local residents first and also protect the countryside from unwelcome development, to provide real affordable homes and make sure we get a fair deal from Cornwall Council.

"A lot of people have put their faith in me. I will be working hard to give them the best support that I possibly can."

Mr Bastin and his wife, Helen, celebrated his success at the polls with a party held at Falmouth Pitch and Putt Cafe at Goldenbank where the were joined with members of his election support group.