A member of Breckland Council's election staff thought he had landed himself in hot water when he tripped and dropped a ballot box into a pond by his house.

The officer reportedly tripped over his dog on Thursday, sending him and his ballet box headlong into the pond.

Maxine O'Mahony, returning officer at Breckland Council, said: 'I can confirm we had a minor mishap with one of our ballot boxes, which was accidentally dropped into a pond – the day before the PCC election.

'I'm pleased to say the member of election staff involved in the accident was still able to get the box, which did not contain any marked ballot papers, to the polling station in plenty of time.'