The Conservatives made gains in Exmouth

They now have 43 seats on the council, an increase of seven, at the expense of the Lib Dems.

Their biggest advances were in the Exmouth Littleham and Exmouth Brixington wards.

Councillor Sara Johnson said the results showed that the party had made excellent advances in towns as well as the rural areas.

LOCAL COUNCIL RESULTS   Councillors Councils Party +/- Total +/- Total After 312 of 312 councils. CON 911 5315 39 165 LAB -505 1877 -8 34 LD -246 2171 -4 23 OTH -162 1112 0 5 NOC - - -27 85 FIND YOUR RESULTS Enter a full postcode: Results in more detail

She said: "We feel voters backed us for a mixture of local and national reasons. We believe we have delivered good services with a low council tax and that is what we plan to continue to do."

The Conservatives now have 43 seats, Lib Dems 10 and Independents also 10. The whole council was up for election.