IN THE end it was a mere 79 votes that separated victorious Sittingbourne and Sheppey Labour MP Derek Wyatt from his defeated Conservative rival Gordon Henderson.

After two recounts Mr Henderson finally admitted he was beaten at 3.50am.

At the first recount he was actually in the lead by 118 votes which made Mr Wyatt call for the ballot papers to be counted again.

The night of high drama was played out in Sittingbourne’s Swallows leisure centre sports hall.

The turn-out was 65.3 per cent which compares to 57.5 per cent in the 2001 General Election.

Mr Wyatt polled 17,340 votes in 2001 compared to 17,051 this time.

Liberal Democrat candidate Jane Nelson had 5,183 votes which is 170 less than the last Liberal Democrat candidate Elvie Lowe.

It was a night of high emotion as the candidates and the party faithful watched like hawks as the votes were counted and recounted.

Eventually, as the result was announced Mr Wyatt’s wife Jo was a picture of raw emotion and tears. She said afterwards: "This has been a real rollercoaster of a night but we have all worked very hard to get this result."

Mr Wyatt said: "We nicked it but I feel as though I have been through the wringer all night. I thought UKIP would have got more votes and it has certainly been a tough call for Gordon Henderson from the Conservatives.

"A lot of our votes were found on his pile of votes which led to the first recount. We certainly planned for this day but did not expect it to be quite so close. I was certainly very nervous though before the evening began."

Mr Henderson said: "My head is in Sittingbourne and Sheppey and we went to almost 17,000 votes. We had victory snatched away because for two minutes I thought I was going to be the MP so I am disappointed.

"I checked the figures with the returning officer and he insisted they were accurate after the second count. It seemed to me that 100 votes had gone astray but he was adamant that they had not."

Jane Nelson for the Liberal Democrats said: "I was very impressed with Derek’s campaign and I only arrived here in February. We really want to focus on the county council elections.

"We do feel as though we have been significantly squeezed by Labour. I am not surprised by our result because people have been voting tactically. They would rather see Labour get in than the Conservatives."

There were a total of 110 spoilt ballot papers so if they had been written correctly then who knows what the result may have been.

Among those watching the drama unfold was 72-year-old Dennis Grover of Gordon Avenue, Queenborough who has been a member of the Labour party for 51 years and has seen 69 elections but this night was one that he is certain to remember.

The Monster Raving Loony Party did their best to put the evening into some kind of context but even their candidate Mad Mike Young had to take his hat off and sit down as the night wore on and on.

The marginal constituency was created as a result of a boundary shake-up that took effect in 1997 and which propelled Mr Wyatt to Westminster, on the back of Tony Blair’s first landslide.

This was Swale Borough Council chief executive Chris Edwards' last night as returning officer and he had his work cut out before his retirement later this year.