THE residents of the Sheriff Hutton ward of Ryedale District Council go to the polls tomorrow for the second time in seven months.

The election is to choose a councillor following the death of independent member of the authority, Councillor Alan Farnaby in June.

The ward covers the villages of Flaxton, Lillings Ambo, Sheriff Hutton and Thornton-le-Clay and there are two candidates.

James Cleary unsuccessfully fought the seat for the Conservatives in the May 1 elections. Mr Cleary, who lives at Leavening, was an auctioneer before setting up in business constructing rural housing in Ryedale.

His opponent is Gill Stilwell of Brentwood, Flaxton, who is standing as an independent candidate.

She has lived in Flaxton for 23 years and has a background in local government and worked as a public analyst in Leeds and Hull for 20 years.

She has been a member of Flaxton parish council for 12 years and chairman for ten years. She is vice chairman of the Ryedale branch of the Yorkshire Local Councils Association and is on the district council's standards committee as the parish representative for 84 communities.