Voters chose David Conway to be Calne Town Council’s newest recruit at a by-election last week.

Mr Conway, who was elected on November 29, will replace Coun Chris Dobbie as a representative for the Lickhill ward.

During his election campaign he canvassed on the issue of dog mess on the Lansdowne Park estate and the need to improve parking around schools in the area.

Mr Conway, who stood for the Conservatives, is a stay-at-home father, a governor at Holy Trinity Primary School and a coach at Calne Rugby Club.

He was one of two candidates to stand for the election and beat Lib-Dem candidate Robert McNaughton by only a handful of votes.

A total of 225 people voted for Mr Conway and 209 for Mr McNaughton, who is a member of the Calne Environmental Group.

Mr Conway said: “It will be a big learning curve but I’m hoping the town council will help me.”

Conservative town councillor Emma Holton said: “It was very close but he came through. Although the town council is generally balanced because all the councillors are there for the town and we’re not hugely political, to have a bit of political balance in the background is good.”