Random checks on postal votes are to be carried out by officials as they bid to cut out fraud in June's all-postal Bradford Council election.

The controversial Government decision to introduce a pilot postal voting scheme against the wishes of many city politicians has raised concerns about the possibility of electoral fraud.

To counter these fears, checks will be made on signatures on the submitted postal votes to make sure they are genuine. If any discrepancies are discovered the police will be called in.

The signatures on ballot papers will be checked against forms returned by people applying to be on the electoral register.

The Council may also take photocopies of signatures accompanying ballot papers and send them to people asking for verification.

The Council's deputy returning officer Gerry Danby said: "A range of new measures have been taken to combat any attempt at the fraudulent use of ballot papers. Electoral fraud is a crime which may be punishable with imprisonment. You must not vote using a ballot pack that is not addressed to you, attempt to see how another has voted or interfere with another voter's ballot papers."

Today leaders of all political groups on Bradford Council welcomed the checks on signatures.

Leader of the Conservative group - and Council leader - Councillor Margaret Eaton said: "This is a pilot which has been forced on Bradford and Yorkshire. I believe it is absolutely necessary to ensure that everyone who has a vote should be able to use it and votes should not be used by those who are not entitled to them."

Councillor Ian Greenwood, leader of the Labour group, called for a fully verified register of empty properties for the district and said he wanted the checks to be as "extensive and rigorous" as possible.

Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "I would welcome more intervention by the elections office."

Leader of the Green party Councillor Martin Love said he believed the complaints which had started to come in were only the tip of the iceberg.

"I am pleased they are chasing this up although the results will already have been declared. The problem will be that there is only one signature per household on the electoral register documents and until we get individual registration it will not be possible to rule out fraud."

l The Council said today 16 people had been taken off the electoral roll following a complaint from a candidate because of mistakes in the application forms. Officers say there is no evidence of fraud surrounding the issue in Lidget Green.

Bradford Council has also received two more complaints about alleged electoral fraud in Lidget Green. A Council spokesman said: "The details of one named person prepared to provide a statement concerning alleged fraud have been passed to the police for their attention. Another complaint has been made and the matter is being looked into."