Candidates in an upcoming Moray by-election are hitting the campaign trail with the vote looming at the end of this month.
Poll cards have been dropping onto doormats in the Buckie ward over the last week as the election on Thursday, March 26, draws near.
The three contenders are independent candidate Norman Calder, Scottish Conservative Tim Eagle and Sonya Warren, representing the SNP.
Mr Calder, who rose to fame on the BBC’s Great British Bake Off series, was first to enter the election race.
He said: “I live in the ward, and I have the interests of the people of Buckie and district at heart. I’m very interested in continuing with the regeneration of Buckie Harbour and trying to improve the leisure facilities in Buckie and Findochty too.
“I’m also campaigning to build more council housing and especially more affordable housing for young people to encourage them to settle in the villages along the coast, bring up more children and increase the school rolls and help keep our schools open.”
Mr Eagle, 35, said: “I’m standing for two reasons – I’m a Christian and this is a relatively Christian ward, and I’m about having a younger member of the council here in Buckie.
“Older councillors have a lot of wisdom, but there are a lot of young families in Buckie and I’m trying to represent them more directly at the council.”
Ms Warren said: “I have lived in Buckie for over 30 years, and I believe I should give back to the community whenever I can.
“I’d like to bring work opportunities back to Buckie, deal with class sizes and teachers in schools, see more done with the redevelopment of the harbour as a source of economic wealth and jobs for years to come and bring back some vibrancy to Buckie’s High Street.”
The Buckie ward extends from Buckpool to Findochty, taking in Arradoul, Rathven, Portessie and Buckie.
The count will take place on Friday, March 27 in Fishermen’s Hall, Buckie.
The by-election was called following the death of veteran councillor Joe Mackay, who was run over by his own mobility scooter in January.
Postal vote packs for the by-election will be issued by the end of this week.
Returning officer Mark Palmer has advised postal voters to make sure they read and follow the instructions carefully.
He said: “This ballot paper requires voters to use numbers to rank candidates in order of preference and people need to include their date of birth and signature on the postal voting statement.”
“This statement is kept separately from the ballot paper so the vote is always secret. People should follow the instructions in the pack to make sure their vote counts.”
There are about 8,000 voters in the ward, with approximately 1,500 of them opting to take part by post.