CONSERVATIVE Robert Goodwill said he believed support from rural voters was behind his defeat of Labour's Lawrie Quinn in the marginal seat of Scarborough and Whitby.

Tony Blair's appearance in Scarborough on the eve of the election was not enough to persuade voters to stick with Mr Quinn, who had represented the constituency since 1997.

Mr Goodwill took the seat by 1,245 votes, overturning Mr Quinn's majority of 3,585 from 2001.

In third place was Liberal Democrat and local English teacher, Tania Exley-Moore, who almost doubled the party's total vote from 2001.

Mr Goodwill, who is a farmer from near Malton and a former MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: "I think it was the countryside vote that did it for me.

"The people in the countryside and the people on the farms did not feel that Mr Quinn was representing them at all."

Following his defeat, Mr Quinn said: "The important thing is that we have a Labour government."

He said he did not believe his loss was down to national issues, such as his support for the ban on fox hunting. "It is not because of our policies," he said. "It is really just the will of the people and that is what counts."