THE Tories strengthened their grip on Ribble Valley Council in a night that saw the leader of the Liberal Democrats ousted.

The ruling party's number of seats rose from 21 to 29, with the Lib Dems dropping from 15 to 10. Labour lost its only seat on the council.

The Conservatives took control of Dilworth in Longridge by claiming both seats and took seats in key wards such as Derby and Thornley, Saint Mary's and Waddington and West Bradford.

Council leader John Hill, retained his seat for the Conservatives in Read and Simonstone, and claimed the success was vindication for their policies over the last four years.

He said: "We have kept council tax down and have retained a weekly bin collection service and have tackled environmental issues as well.

"We shall go forward and will now roll out the three stream waste collection across the borough.

"And from here we are going to work closely with county council to improve the road system in Clitheroe. Let me make it clear we will not merge with Burnley, Blackburn or Pendle who have continually made those advances."

A casualty of the Conservative dominance was Liberal Democrat leader Frank Dyson who lost his seat in St Mary's after 20 years on the council.

The 85-year-old said: "This is a reactionary gesture by the voters to 10 years of Labour control on a national level.

"It is a pity we could not take advantage of this but the Conservatives had gained because of the unhappiness with the Government."