THE final results for the new County Durham unitary authority have been declared, with Labour securing a majority of eight seats.

Labour candidates won 67 seats, Liberal Democrat councillors 27 and the Conservatives ten. Independent councillors won 22 seats.

The result leaves Labour in overall control of the new authority.

The county's Liberal Democrat leader Nigel Martin hailed a "tremendous night", after seeing his party make key gains in Durham City.

The Lib Dems won 15 of the 22 seats, up from five of the 11 previously available.

Coun Martin, who won comfortably in Neville's Cross, said last night: "We've put a real effort in here (in Durham). The Labour Party was clearly in for a bad night tonight."

A number of prominent Labour figures failed to win seats, including David Bell, the leader of the Labour group on Durham City Council, and Peter Mitchell, his deputy.

Sitting county councillors Ray Pye and George Burlison also lost out.

Earlier, Labour sources feared they might win as few as four seats, but the final result was slightly better, as the party walked away with seven.

The Lib Dem's most notable success came in Deerness Valley - the only division not to return two councillors from the same party. John Wilkinson won a seat for the Lib Dems and Jean Chaplow one for Labour.

Lib Dem Carol Woods, the deputy leader of Durham City Council, won a seat in Sherburn, while former Conservative Cabinet minister Michael Bates won just 329 votes standing in Framwellgate Moor.

The BNP fielded eight candidates but struggled to make an impact. The party's biggest vote-winner was Ralph Musgrave, who picked up 285 in Framwellgate Moor.