FORMER Mayor of Halton and veteran councillor Pat Tyrrell was spared a prison sentence but fined £3,000 after pleading guilty to ten counts of electoral fraud following the 2004 local and European elections.

The sentencing at Knutsford Crown Court came just a week after Mr Tyrrell, who served the Castlefields ward as a Labour councillor for more than 20 years, announced his retirement due to ill-health.

In August 2004, police carried out an early-morning raid on the 75-year-old's home suspecting him of fraud in that year's European and local elections, during which the North West region was used a postal-voting testing ground.

Two charges of personation, which could have led to a custodial sentence, were dropped by the prosecution, who said new evidence meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. It had initially been suspected that signatures had been forged on electoral documents.

The court heard Tyrrell's actions were motivated by a desire to help people confused by the new voting system rather than an attempt to steal votes.

Judge Stephen Clarke said he was satisfied Tyrrell had not been attempting to 'steal votes' and that the people affected had intended to vote Labour.

He said: 'There is no question of dishonesty in that way or any attempt to impersonate people so their votes are stolen from them.'

Tyrrell had a 605 majority after gaining 1,045 votes when re-elected as Labour council-lor in the 2004 elections. The grandfather and father-of-four outstripped his two Labour colleagues, who gained 833 and 816 votes in what Judge Clarke described as 'one of the safest Labour seats in the whole of Britain'.

Tyrrell was unable to attend Monday's hearing after being admitted to Halton Hospital earlier this year suffering from a serious heart condition.

His son, Paul, said: 'He has paid a heavy price with his health for the help he and the family gave people to vote in the way they wanted to vote.

'His life of public service ended prematurely because of illness brought about directly as a result of this case.

'Apart from him and our family, the only other people to suffer as a result of this case are the people who he represented with passion, care and distinction for the last four decades.'