ELECTION candidates were grilled by Priestley College students on Friday.

Some of the town's youngest voters pitched questions to hopefuls on issues including British values, UK membership of the EU and doctors' working hours.

The political panel was made up of Conservative Warrington South MP David Mowat, UKIP police commissioner candidate Jonathan Starkey, Labour's Nick Bent, Liberal Democrat Bob Barr and Mike Wass from the Green Party.

Student Kyle Kirkpatrick, a member of the college council, chaired the meeting and kept the candidates 'in check'.

Senior tutor Mark Salmon said: "It was the students' choice whether to attend Priestley's Question Time so it was really good to see more than 150 take part.

"The panel were challenged on issues such as British values, which showed how much the students had thought about their questions."

The college staged its own version of Question Time as part of its drive to encourage more young people to engage in politics.

In recent weeks all students have been able to register to vote by clicking an icon on their college computer desktop.

Europe was also a major talking point during the event.

"The debate on the EU referendum was intense and we will be following this with a range of activities to further our commitment to encouraging active citizenship," added Mr Salmon.