THE race for the vacant town and district council seats in Beaconsfield is hotting up now all the main parties have declared their candidates.

The seats became available at the end of last year following the resignation of long-standing town and South Bucks District representative Lesley Mallinder and town councillor Becky Linford-Jones (Lib Dem).

The three candidates vying for the district council seat will be current town councillor Ann Main (Con, South Ward), Barbara Sadler (Lib Dem) and Anne Veart (Lab).

Cllr Main said she was hoping to take the skills she had learnt on the town council over to the district seat.

She added: "I am now on the Old Town Working Group and have worked hard to get to know my residents and I think they have confidence in me."

Anne Veart is a policy advisor for Mencap and has lived in Beaconsfield for four years. Her policies include improving Beaconsfield Old Town.

The final candidate, Barbara Sadler, a 57 year-old teacher, of Caledon Road, Beaconsfield, said local government was about "making sure people have a strong voice in the community".

She said: "I now live in the house bought here by my grandmother in 1939, so I have been involved in the town for a long time."

Candidates for the two town council seats are Dr Phillip Lee (Con), a doctor at Stoke Mandeville Hospital Trust, Steve Jones (Con), general manager at Tilbury Builders, Victoria Pender (Lib Dem), a marketing and communications director, Barbara Sadler (Lib Dem), and Anne Veart (Lab).