SWINDON Conservative Angus Macpherson has been chosen as Wiltshire's police and crime commissioner (PCC) in the first result to come in after Thursday's elections.

But the turnout in the election was barely over 15 per cent and Mr Macpherson only won 36 per cent of first round votes (28,558).

There are 520,000 registered voters across the whole county.

Salisbury based Labour candidate Clare Moody was second with 16,198 (21 per cent), Independent Colin Skelton third with 11,446 (15 per cent), Lib-Dem Paul Batchelor fourth with 10,130 (13 per cent), UKIP’s John Short 7,250 (9 per cent) and Independent Liam Silcocks 5,212 (7 per cent).

When second preference votes were counted, Mr Macpherson, a former Swindon councillor, was elected with a total of 35,319 votes, compared with Ms Moody's 21,157.

Wiltshire was the only county to count the votes overnight so Angus Macpherson is Britain’s first elected PCC – appropriately as Wiltshire Constabulary’s force motto is primus et optimus (first and best) as it was the first established county force.