COUNTING is set to begin in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election with the polls having closed.

The Brecon & Radnor Express news team is at the counting centre, the Food Hall at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd, near Builth Wells where the result is expected to be announced in the early hours of Friday morning.

The by-election is the first electoral test for new Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson who will see his Commons majority reduced to one if anyone other than Conservative candidate Chris Davies wins.

Liberal Democrat candidate Jane Dodds is tipped to win the seat which is also being pitted as a battle between leave and remain parties in a county which, including the Montgomeryshire constituency, voted to leave the European Union by 53% to 46 for remain in the 2016 referendum.

The Brexit Party is also standing and its candidate is retired police superintendent Des Parkinson

There are 53,393 registered electors in the constituency, which is the largest by geography in the whole of Wales, and also larger than any in England.

There have been 93 polling stations dotted around the constituency, which have been open since 7am and closed at 10pm when collecting the boxes began

There are at team of 55, mostly Powys council staff, ready to count the votes at the Food Hall with the first boxes set to arrive at around 10.15pm.

The election was triggered when 19% of local electors signed a recall petition after Chris Davies was sentenced for false expenses claims, in April this year, which dated from 2016.

At the 2017 snap election Mr Davies won a 8,038 majority over the Lib Dems, who he had taken the seat from in 2015, but lost his seat as a result of the successful recall petition.

The offences, which he admitted, related to claims for £700 costs of photographs for his constituency office in Builth Wells he fell foul of the rules by creating two false invoices to split the cost between two expenses accounts. He was entitled to claim the costs but not create false invoice.

Also standing is Brecon town councillor Tom Davies, for Labour, and Liz Phillips who is a personal assistant to former UKIP leader Gerard Batten.

Lady Lily the Pink, from Llanwrtyd Wells, is standing for the Official Monster Raving Loony