DUDLEY residents are being urged to use their vote on Thursday in the local elections and the Referendum.

•Polling stations across the borough will be open from 7am-10pm, with voters reminded to take their polling cards with them.

•There are 101 candidates standing across the borough to become local ward councillors.

•This year three Labour councillors in Dudley wards have stood down from their seats. John Martin will no longer stand in Netherton, Woodside and St Andrew's and is instead seeking re-election in Amblecote.

Meanwhile John Davies and Tina While-Cooper have stood down from their seats in St Thomas's ward and Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood respectively.

•The count for both votes will not take place until Friday, with Central and North Dudley wards set to be counted at Dudley Concert Hall. Brierley Hill wards will be counted at Brierley Hill Civic Hall. The count for Stourbridge will take place at Stourbridge Town Hall, while Halesowen's count will take place at The Cornbow Centre.

•As well as voting for a new ward councillor, residents will also be asked to vote 'yes' or 'no' as to whether they wish to replace the current first-past-the-post system for Member of Parliament elections with the alternative vote (AV) method, when candidates are ranked in order, before the lowest polling politicians in each constituency are eliminated and their votes redistributed among their rivals.

Who is standing to be your ward councillor?

Brockmoor and Pensnett:

Vicky Duckworth - The Green Party. Karen Jordan - Labour. David Lavender - Liberal Democrats. Andy May - UKIP. Sue Ridley - Conservative.

Castle and Priory:

Hasan Afzal - Conservative. Ken Finch - Labour. Sue Rowe - UKIP.

Gornal:

Daniel Archer - The Green Party. Ken Griffiths - National Front. Michael Jones - Liberal Democrats. Anne Millward - Conservative. Phil Rowe - UKIP. Stuart Turner - Labour.

Netherton, Woodside and St Andrew's:

Will Duckworth - The Green Party. Steve Ridley - Conservative. John White - Liberal Democrats. Phil Wimlett - UKIP. Qadar Zada - Labour.

Sedgley:

David Caunt - Conservative. Serena Craigie - Liberal Democrats. Bill Etheridge - UKIP. Kevin Inman - National Front. Barbara Sykes - Labour.

St James's:

Mandy Adams - Liberal Democrats. Tim Byrne - UKIP. Ian Jones - Conservative. Mary Roberts - Labour.

St Thomas's:

Safeena Arshad - Labour. Mick Forsyth - UKIP. Christian Green - The Green Party. Daryl Millward - Conservative.

Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood:

Pam Archer - The Green Party. Jackie Cowell - Labour. David Sheppard - Liberal Democrats. Helen Wimlett - UKIP. Mike Wood - Conservative.

Upper Gornal and Woodsetton:

Adam Aston - Labour. David Simms - Conservative