Voters in Blackbird Leys are likely to suffer election fatigue on May 5 more than any other Oxford district.

Not only will they vote in the General Election and cast two votes in the county council election, but they will also have to put a cross in a box in the by-election caused by Val Smith's resignation as a city councillor earlier this year.

In total, exhausted voters on the estate will vote four times in three elections.

But Oxford City Council is confident residents are equal to the task and has even created colour-coded ballot papers to make things easier.

Mrs Smith, the wife of Oxford East parliamentary candidate Andrew, quit the Town Hall after 18 years in March after becoming frustrated by the fact big decisions are mainly made by the county council, which has responsibility for transport, education and social services.

She said she had become disillusioned by the lack of power to change people's lives and is now standing as a Labour candidate in the new county council division of Leys and Lye.

A city council spokesman said: "It can be confusing for members of the public when there are numerous different elections taking place on one day.

"However, this has happened before and the different type of elections have different coloured ballot papers to make it easier for the public to understand.

"The parliamentary is white, county is yellow and the by-election for Blackbird Leys is lilac. All notices relating to the different elections will also be in the corresponding colour."

The Blackbird Leys seat is wide open with the Independent Working Class Association looking to capitalise on its rising popularity on the estate by electing Kelly Webster.

If successful she would join the IWCA's other Blackbird Leys councillor, Lee Cole, and colleagues Claire Kent and Stuart Craft.

Parish councillor Rae Humberstone replaces Mrs Smith as the Labour representative, Stuart Hand stands for the Tories, Nathan Pyle represents the Liberal Democrats while the Green candidate is Susan Tibbles.

Blackbird Leys Parish Council chairman, Brian Lester, urged people to get out and vote, regardless of who they support.

He said: "If people don't bother to turn out and vote they can't have their say."

BLACKBIRD LEYS BY-ELECTION CANDIDATES:

Stuart Hand (Conservative)

Rae Humberstone (Labour)

Nathan Pyle (Liberal Democrat)

Susan Tibbles (Green)

Kelly Webster (Independent Working Class Association)