An independent borough councillor has become a Conservative.

The defection of Sheppey Central councillor Lesley Ingham means the Tories now have 29 members.

Labour currently holds 11 seats and the Lib Dems have four, while the independents have three.

Mrs Ingham was elected as a Sheppey First! councillor three years ago. Mrs Ingham said the decision was not an easy one to make and it took her a few months to be sure.

She said: “Being an independent I didn’t have a voice, we are on our own, but this way I know I will have the backing of the Conservatives.”

The 55-year-old said her main concerns about the Island are drinking and drug-taking and the facilities for young people.

She also wants to highlight the issue of disabled people’s facilities.

She added: “I realise the people who voted for me voted for me as an independent but I want to reassure them my policies haven’t changed and my attitude to Sheppey hasn’t changed.”

Mrs Ingham’s late husband John, who died three years ago, was a Conservative borough councillor for more than 20 years.