Dozens of angry holidaymakers left Bradford having lost their right to vote because of the huge number of applications for postal votes.

The Council's elections unit has faced a tidal wave of 17,500 applications amid rumours - particularly in Bradford North and Bradford West - of threats and pressure to hand them over to so-called party workers without completing them.

There have also been reports of postal votes being sold.

But the massive response and increased scrutiny of applications meant many people who had expected their ballot forms in the post over the weekend had to go on holiday without using them.

Today the district's head of democratic support services Andrew Mather said the Council had been unable to send the ballot forms all out on one day because of the large number of applications.

But he added the Government had allowed councils several days to get them out, after it lifted restrictions for the first time, allowing anyone a postal vote.

Mr Mather said all the rest of the voting forms would be delivered by today.

But readers going on holiday today who contacted the Telegraph & Argus about their postal ballot forms said they had been told to expect them by Friday and were unable to get through the busy lines at the City Hall election unit to see if they votes could be salvaged.

June Bennett, 53, said she and her husband Maurice, 72, who live in Queensbury, were setting off on holiday and would be unable to wait for their voting slips.

She said: "We applied for our postal votes a long time ago, we checked on Wednesday and were told it would be Friday. We are very angry."

Joan Scott, 71, of Oakenshaw said her family had applied for three postal votes because they were going to be on holiday.

"We applied for them in good time. We couldn't believe that the only thing in the envelope was instructions about what to do with the votes. We thought they'd forgotten them.

"I'm really cross because I've never missed a vote and we're not going to be there to receive them," she said.