A NEWLY elected councillor in Flintshire has pledged to make improving road safety his number one priority after successfully being voted in.

Labour’s Kevin Rush was announced as the winner of the Bagillt west by-election late last night after beating independent rival David Stanley by 251 votes to 144.

It came after fellow party member Mike Rees announced he would be stepping down for personal reasons last month.

Cllr Rush, a former bricklayer and manager of empty properties for Flintshire Council, said he was delighted to be elected to the local authority after missing out on winning the village’s other seat by a narrow margin in 2017.

He said he was frequently asked about reviewing road safety measures while canvassing residents and would make it his main focus moving forward.

He said: “I’m really pleased as I fought an election two years ago on the east side of the village and lost by three votes.

“This time I feel really elated to have won by a majority of 107, which is fantastic.

“The humps on the main street are a major factor and we are trying as a community council to get them removed.

“What we’re seeing is that buses, lorries and motorbikes speed through and avoid the humps completely, but the cars are getting damaged going over them.

“We want to replace them with tables, so everybody has to slow down.”

He added: “Looking at road safety, I’ve also talked to a few people in the River Bank and Boot End of Bagillt where the school is as there’s a dangerous stretch of road there.

“I’d like to look at things like that to see what can be done.”

Flintshire’s Labour council leader Ian Roberts said: “I’m very please with the result and I think Kevin is a known local candidate who has done his work in the ward.

“We are obviously very happy with the result we’ve seen last night.”