An error that saw some London polling stations turn voters away due to not having received their voting cards has been slammed as 'unfair' by a Hammersmith theatre employee who was almost robbed of his vote.

Furious voters arrived to stations in Barnet only to be informed of the mistake that meant those who had not brought along their own voting card - which voters are advised they do not have to do - were not allowed to vote.

People were arriving to vote for the next Mayor of London and for who will sit on the London Assembly .

Guy Fryer, head of stage at the Lyric Hammersmith , was one Barnet resident affected by the error.

Like others in the same situation, though, he was eventually allowed to vote because he had brought his own voting card.

"I was able to vote because I’m quite a stubborn individual and I was able to make it happen," he said.

"I got to the polling station at 7am and there were a dozen or 16 people there.

"The issue was people had turned up, with and without their polling card, but our names weren’t on the names on the sheets the volunteers had. So technically they thought we weren’t able to vote.

"The issue then became about a large number getting turned away and told to come back later, but what if they can’t come back later, what if they’re working until 10pm?"

RECAP: London voters turn out to choose their new mayor and London Assembly

'This isn't a cake sale - voting matters'

Britain's Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis was another voter to be turned away in Barnet. He was unable to return to vote as he was flying overseas later that day.

Mr Fryer said: "The chief Rabbi was turned away and he’s now gone to Amsterdam this afternoon, so he hasn’t voted.

"How can we have a fair representation of London if half or a quarter of Barnet has not been able to vote?

"We have a democracy where we get to vote. We’re getting flippantly that it’s an administrative error, but that’s not good enough. Voting matters.

"It’s more than chaos, it’s a travesty. People haven’t voted and that’s not fair.

"This isn’t some sort of cake sale - voting matters."

'We apologise'

Barnet Council arranged an emergency proxy vote arrangement to allow those unable to return to a polling station to have their vote cast by someone else.

A council spokesman said: "We are aware of problems with our electoral registration lists this morning at polling stations in Barnet which have meant that a number of people who had not brought their polling card with them were unable to vote.

"We are working to resolve this issue and the updated registers have been sent to all the polling stations, which we expect to be in place by 10am. In the meantime, people who have their polling cards with them are able to vote.

"We are advising residents to bring their polling cards. If people were unable to vote this morning they are being advised to return if possible later before the stations close at 10pm. We apologise for the problems."