The Liberal Democrats have taken control of Tunbridge Wells.

The party has taken control of 22 out of 39 seats for the borough council.

The count started this morning following the votes at the polls yesterday for both Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells councils.

And in Maidstone, the Conservatives have emerged ahead in the hard-fought election.

But although the Tories are the largest party with 13 seats on Maidstone Borough Council, they have failed to secure an overall majority which needed 25 of the 49 seats.

With the Lib Dems ending the day on 12 seats, and the Greens on 10, there will now need to be some behind-the-scenes horse-trading to decide who will support whom to form the next administration.

With Labour on six seats, and the Independents also taking six, they too could play a part in any deals.

But we will not know for certain who will be the next council leader until the annual meeting of the new council at 9am on Saturday, May 18.

It was Labour who claimed the first seat in Tunbridge Wells as results started flying in earlier today, with the Lib Dems claiming the first victory in the county town.

In Maidstone, the number of councillors is being reduced from 55 to 49, while in Tunbridge Wells the number of councillors is being reduced from 48 to 39.

Both councils previously elected their members one-third at a time.

In Maidstone, the borough council is currently in no overall control, but the Conservatives have formed the administration with support from some of the Independents.

Going into the polls, they were the largest party.

The Conservatives currently have 25 seats, Lib Dems 12, Independents 6, Green Independent Alliance 6, Labour 4, and Fant and Oakwood Independents 2.

Councillors elected today will serve for four years, as the council has decided to keep all-in elections in future.

In Tunbridge Wells, there is also no overall control, and the cabinet is a coalition comprised of Lib Dem, Labour and Tunbridge Wells Alliance members.

Of the 48 seats, the Lib Dems have 17, Conservatives 11, Tunbridge Wells Alliance 9, Labour 7, Independents for Tunbridge Wells 2, and other Independents 2.

Those elected today will serve for either two, three or four years, according to a pre-arranged schedule, as the council intends to return to elections by thirds, with the next election coming in 2026.

Many of the 163 candidates in the Maidstone Borough Council elections are expected to attend the count at the Clive Emson Conference Centre at the Kent County Showground, accompanied by supporters who will watch the count closely to ensure that no mistakes are made. The counting in Tunbridge Wells will take place at The Assembly Hall Theatre.

But there is a process to be gone through before the actual counting of votes can begin.

When voters went to the polls yesterday, many of them had three ballot papers to fill in - their choice for their ward councillors, their choice for their county-wide Police and Crime Commissioner and also in many cases, their choices for their parish councils.

First, the tellers will need to separate the ballots for each poll. Then they will need to check that the number of ballot papers received corresponds with the number of votes cast as recorded at each polling station.

Only when the returning officer, Angela Woodhouse, is happy with that, will the actual counting of votes begin.

The count for the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner will be on Sunday. That number will be passed onto Gravesham council, along with figures from all boroughs and districts around the county. The overall result for that is expected at about 4pm.