Despite losing control of some key councils the Liberal Democrats have hailed their "great victories".

On a night in which no clear winner emerged, the Lib Dems seized control of Norwich from Labour and took Kingston-Upon-Thames.

Other gains from the Conservatives included Worthing, Cheltenham and Eastbourne.

However, the party lost Sheffield to Labour and Richmond to the Tories.

In Watford, Dorothy Thornhill became the new directly elected mayor, more than 8000 votes ahead of the Labour challenger in second place.

By Friday morning the Liberal Democrats had 1,200 council members, a net gain of 25.

The Lib Dem share of the vote stood at 27 per cent, up eight per cent on its 2001 general election performance.

Party leader Charles Kennedy said: "People know our reputation in local government. We work hard and we deliver quality public services."

He also had hard words for the Conservatives. "The Tories were setting great store by these elections. They thought they would be the start of the fight back, but the British electorate has seen through them," he said.