Bradford Council and the police have warned they will be taking a tough stance on allegations of electoral fraud.

The statement comes as more than 50,000 postal ballot papers are being posted out next week across ahead of the forthcoming local elections on Thursday, May 1.

This year West Yorkshire Police, Bradford Council's chief executive and returning officer Tony Reeves, electoral fraud experts from the Crown Prosecution Service and the Electoral Commission are co-operating even more closely to ensure the elections are run fairly and safely.

It follows eight allegations of impropriety at last year's Bradford Council election, none of which resulted in any action.

In addition, a high-profile case is proceeding through the courts with seven men accused of vote-rigging in the run-up to the 2005 general election.

Former Conservative parliamentary candidate Haroon Rashid, who stood in Bradford West at that election, have been charged along with former Tory Bradford councillors Jamshed Khan and Reis Khan. They have been charged with four other defendants with conspiring to defraud the Council's registration officer over falsely completed applications to vote by post.

West Yorkshire Assistant Chief Constable of local policing, David Crompton, said: "Any genuine allegations of electoral fraud will be treated extremely seriously. We are working closely in partnership with returning officers to share information to identify any suspicious activity.

"The suggestion that electoral fraud is taking place has the potential to undermine people's faith in the voting system and therefore to undermine communities.

"I want anyone aware of any suspicious activity, or who feels someone is attempting to unfairly influence them, to contact their local returning officer in the first instance."

Guidance to returning officers states that anyone wanting to make an allegation of electoral fraud should have evidence and be willing to make a statement to police. Returning officers may then decide to refer some matters to the police for further investigation, but the police have warned they will not take on unsubstantiated, third-party reports.

Mr Reeves said: "What we want to see is a fair and transparent local election in which the public can have full confidence in the outcome. I am determined to work with police to ensure that any problems are dealt with swiftly and robustly."

The police are also working closely with the postal services to ensure the security of postal votes and delivery addresses.

In a bid to tighten security the Council wrote to everyone in the district registered for postal voting before last year's elections.

The new measures, designed to help combat election fraud, include requiring a database of signatures and date of births to be kept by local authorities. The information is then kept on file to be checked against votes at election time. And the Council has a "no touch" policy with regard to postal ballots, a code all parties, candidates and canvassers must sign up to.