Four candidates have now thrown their hats into the ring to contest a council byelection in Surbiton Hill ward.

The ballot was called after Liberal Democrat Councillor Umesh Parekh resigned 15 months after being elected to take an IT job with Friends of the Earth.

Former Surbiton Hill councillor Nick Kilby will try to regain his seat for the Conservatives, while former accountant John Ayles is standing for the Lib Dems.

Paul Pickhaver, a community activist who led the project to re-open the pavilion in Alexandra Park in Tolworth, is standing for the Christian Peoples Alliance.

The Labour party, which held parts of the ward before its boundaries were re-drawn in 2002, is fielding drug charity worker Katie Hill.

The byelection will be held on Thursday, September 15, with an August 31 deadline to register to vote or apply for a postal vote.

See the Surrey Comet on Friday for a full report and to see if any other candidates joined the race by the Thursday deadline.