Hundreds of postal votes have been issued in the area following problems with packs being "spoiled", East Ayrshire Council has said.

The Electoral Registration Office in Ayrshire has confirmed a postal vote electorate of 18,109 in the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency, which is around a quarter of the total electorate.

Almost 17,000 postal vote packs were sent in a first batch on Saturday, June 22 for Kilmarnock and Loudoun voters.

A second batch of deliveries was expected on Saturday, June 29, with more than 200 packs set to be sent out.

READ MORE: Kilmarnock and Loudoun general election candidates make last plea

However, East Ayrshire Council was made aware that a number of second issue packs had been spoiled at the third party print centre, and as such 221 of the second issue packs were scheduled to arrive on doorsteps on Monday, July 1.

A council spokesperson said: "Our election team have worked extremely hard to accommodate any requests for replacement packs since Friday, to ensure any voter who needed an urgent replacement could be issued with a replacement pack without unnecessary delay.

"Almost 200 replacements have been requested with the vast majority of these produced and issued by Saturday evening.

"Requests for replacements continue to be received and processed on receipt, with many electors able to collect their packs from East Ayrshire Council HQ shortly after their request has been received.

"It is important to note that once a replacement has been issued, the original ballot paper is cancelled.

"Should any elector who has requested a replacement, now be in receipt of the original, then the replacement pack must be used for the purpose of submitting your postal vote. The original pack will be rejected upon receipt.

"Should anyone in East Ayrshire who is registered to vote by post, still NOT have received their packs following their Monday postal delivery, they should contact the election office on 01563 576555 to request a replacement."

Polling places will be open from 7am until 10pm on Thursday, July 4.