THERE was anger on campus after students turned up to vote in the local election, only to find they were not registered.

Students are routinely placed on the electoral roll when they register at the University of York and begin their course.

But dozens of students were turned away from the campus polling station yesterday, because they were not on the list.

Tim Maitland, 20, said: "We were given a number to ring, but we are just not on the electoral roll. We were told we get to vote next time, but we have not been registered."

Andrew Hubbert, 18, said: "It seems my college didn't register me. It's a little annoying."

Labour candidate Grace Fletcher-Hall said: "We are quite worried. There are lots of people saying they would support me if they could vote. It's random disenfranchisement."

University spokesman Dave Garner said it sent the council a list last October, detailing all students in university accommodation, and the council had written to all those on the roll earlier this year.

He said: "It is, ultimately, the students' responsibility to ensure their name is on the electoral register. We supply the names if they are in university accommodation, but the responsibility for checking is theirs."

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "It is the responsibility of higher education establishments in York to provide the council's election team with a list of students who are eligible to vote.

"We have checked the list of those registered against the list provided by the University of York and they are the same.

"It is unfortunate if a number of students have been unable to exercise their right to vote. However, it is up to individuals to check that they are registered correctly ahead of the elections.

"Students are entitled to be registered to vote at both their home address and university address, so the affected students may be able to vote in their home areas."