THE seat vacated by 'Caribbean councillor' Stephen Gregory was last night re-claimed by the Liberal Democrats.

Local caf owner Sam Zair won the Bishop Auckland Town ward on Wear Valley District Council by 20 votes.

Mr Gregory provoked a national outcry after The Northern Echo revealed how he claimed hundreds of pounds in council allowances while living 4,500 miles away in the Dominican Republic.

He moved to the Caribbean island in January last year and continued to receive a weekly allowance of £89.08, attending just one meeting during a trip back home in July.

The 47-year-old former butcher - who was elected in 1999 as a Liberal Democrat but later switched to become an Independent - resigned in December.

Mr Zair, 49, said last night that he decided to stand after becoming disillusioned by Mr Gregory's actions.

"I have got this town in my heart. I want to see the good times come back to Bishop Auckland," he added.

The by-election success brings the number of Liberal-Democrats on the council to 10.

The results were: Margaret Betty Hopson (UKIP), 16; Jim Tague (Conservative) 135; Robert John Yorke (Labour) 161; Sam Zair (Liberal Democrat) 181. The turn out was 21 per cent.