ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

Scotland Yard is probing allegations of postal vote malpractices in a key borough for the May 3 local elections, the Standard reveals today.

Eleven cases in Hammersmith and Fulham have been reported to police including some where residents say they have been issued with postal votes they did not request. Officers are understood to have spoken to some individuals who believe they were tricked into applying for a postal vote.

One woman thought that she was signing a petition about Charing Cross Hospital, it is claimed.

The allegations come amid a surge in people applying for postal votes in some marginal wards in the Labour-run borough. The Conservatives claim there have been huge increases in postal vote registration on several estates where Labour is strong.

Figures compiled by the Tories show postal vote registrations in Town ward, which has three Conservative councillors, rose from 1,268 before last year’s general election to 2,005 this month. More specifically, in the Town ward “C” polling district which runs from Fulham Road towards Putney Bridge, the number jumped from 307 in March 2017 to 758 this month.

Conservatives say that on four estates in this district there have been big rises in postal vote registrations to 50 per cent of the electorate in Pulton Place, 42 per cent in Fulham Court, and 35 per cent on Barclay Close and Lancaster Court.

Greg Hands, Tory MP for Chelsea and Fulham, said: “Some people were signed up by the Labour Party and are telling us that they had not knowingly requested one [a postal vote] and do not want one.” The Conservatives referred their concerns to the police.

The London Labour Party rejected accusations of wrongdoing against its campaign teams. A spokesman said: “This is a completely baseless allegation and a desperate, politically-motivated attempt by a Tory MP to use the police to grab a headline during a closely-fought election campaign.”

A council spokesman said: “There are currently no concerns about the validity of any votes in Hammersmith and Fulham.” Scotland Yard has been contacted for comment.