STUNNED disbelief greeted the result of the Swale Borough Council poll, the first declared of Kent's three local elections.

The Conservatives stormed into power, taking over from the previously hung council in which the Liberal Democrats had been the largest party for years. The Tories' 25 seats put them past the critical winning post mark of 24 in the 47-seat council. In the previous council, elected in 1998, they had only 15 seats.

The Lib Dems crashed from 23 seats to 12 in a nightmare result seemingly without parallel throughout the country. Labour lost one seat, ending up with 10.

Although some adjustments had been expected as a result of boundary changes and the resulting election of the council en masse, rather than the usual one third, no one had anticipated a swing of this magnitude.

In TUNBRIDGE WELLS the Conservatives, with 31 of the 48 seats on the old borough council, predictably retained control. In fact they increased their seats by three, taking one from Independent and two from Labour, with the new council now looking like this: Con 34, Lib Dem 11, Lab 3. A modest 32% of the 79,015-strong electorate turned out to vote.

But the shock here was Labour group leader Ian Carvell losing his seat in Sherwood ward - by 11 votes. He said: “I thought it would be close, but it is a shame that we didn’t manage to convince the people of Sherwood that continuing to have a Labour councillor would be a good thing.”

Hailing the night a further victory for the Conservatives, present leader of the council, Cllr James Scholes said: “We’ve gained three seats, which is at the higher end of our expectations."

In MAIDSTONE there was no change either. Like Swale, the council has for years not had a party in overall control - but, unlike Swale, here the Liberal Democrats hung on to their advantage. But the Conservatives inched nearer, gaining one seat from them and two from Independents. Labour stayed the same, with the new council being: Con 19, Lib Dem 21, Lab 12, Ind 3.