LABOUR won a sixth consecutive local election in Darlington, but its majority was cut from 15 to five.

Council leader John Williams said the Pedestrian Heart's problems were partly to blame.

Labour, which has controlled the borough council since 1991, went from 34 councillors to 29.

The Conservatives rallied from 13 to 18 seats, and the Liberal Democrats from three to five. There were three independents, now there is only one - Councillor Steve Jones, who was sacked by the Lib Dems for nominating a British National Party (BNP) candidate.

Nationally, Labour faced its biggest popularity test nationally since 2005. The party lost hundreds of councillors, saw its Welsh Assembly representation shrink and was overtaken by the nationalists in the Scottish parliament.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) claimed a historic first after winning 47 of the 129 seats up for grabs at Holyrood, with Labour one behind on 46. However, the result leaves both parties short of the 65 seats needed to have an overall majority.

In Darlington, Coun Williams, leader of the borough council since 1991, said he was pleased with Labour's success in the town, but insisted lessons would be learned.

"I'm very pleased," he said. "But I am cautioned because our majority has been reduced, and we need to take note of what voters have said. We need to be more inclusive and listen better to what people say.

"But, overwhelmingly, it is a verdict by the electorate that they have confidence in us to take the borough forward."

Conservative leader Councillor Heather Scott said the swing proved Darlington was now a marginal seat again.

"The Conservative result is up by ten to 15 per cent. Unfortunately, that hasn't really transposed to extra seats," she said.

"Alan Milburn must be very concerned because the Conservative vote across the town has gone up, and we are now a marginal seat."

In Prime Minister Tony Blair's backyard, Sedgefield, Labour held on to control of the borough council, but with a reduced majority.

In Wear Valley, Liberal Democrat gains meant Labour lost overall control of the council, but remains the largest party. Two members of Teesdale District Council's executive lost their seats.

In North Yorkshire, Conservatives at both Hambleton and Richmondshire district councils were celebrating after yesterday's counts.

The Liberal Democrats increased their majority on Durham City Council and held on to Newcastle City Council, while on Derwentside District Council, Labour narrowly saw off a challenge by the independents, which saw their majority cut from 21 seats to three.

In Middlesbrough, Ray Mallon was elected for a second term as mayor after winning a landslide victory with more than 17,000 votes, 10,000 more than his nearest rival.

In the council election, Labour lost three seats but remained in power. One of the seats went to knife-amnesty campaigner Barbara Dunne, who campaigned in Ayresome as an independent.

Elsewhere, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council was hanging in the balance last night after Labour failed by two seats to take control.

A meeting will be held today to discuss possibilities of a coalition leadership.

In Hartlepool, the Labour group lost three of its most secure seats to two Liberal Demorcrats and one independent, but continues to be the majority holder with 24 seats.

In Stockton, Labour lost control of the council after losing five of its seats to four independents and one Conservative.

The borough council is now likely to see a coalition formed between Labour and the Conservatives.

Despite fielding nearly 100 candidates across the region, it was a bad night for the BNP, which failed to win a single seat.

However, the BNP did have significant backing in some parts - particularly in Chilton, County Durham, where they collected a fifth of the total vote.