In the night's biggest shock LibDem leader cllr Richard Stevens was a hair's breadth away from sensationally losing his Old Town seat to his Conservative rival Stuart Padget.

Click here to view a slideshow of the count

After five counts the pair could not be separated and for the first time in living memory the seat was settled by the drawing of lots.

Both had 633 votes but cllr Stevens name was drawn from the hat adding the crucial extra vote needed to clinch victory.

It was the only real plus point on a miserable evening for the LibDems who ended the night with only three remaining seats after losing two councillors - including the deputy mayor Vivienne Bond.

The night's real winners were the Conservatives who remain the largest party on the 32 seat council with 15 seats. However the Tories did not manage to wrestle back overall control of the council which remains hung after Labour bucked the national trend and held its own - ending the evening with 13 councillors.

This means the Conservatives will once again be hoping they can rely on the support of the LibDems in the council chamber to force through any new policies.

Both the Conservatives and Labour proclaimed the evening a success, the with Tories arguing it showed local support for how it they had been running the council in recent years while Labour said the results showed the party still had a stronghold of voters in the town despite concerns over more national issues.

In the hotly anticipated Conquest Ward, council leader Peter Pragnell successfully saw off the challenge of LibDem newcomer Margaret Williams - the figurehead of the Hands off the Conquest campaign.

Cllr Pragnell, who polled 835 votes, was the clear winner but Mrs Williams did not disgrace herself, coming in second with 521 votes - a total which would have seen her win in other wards.

Other big winners on the night were Hastings mayor Maureen Charlesworth who scored 868 votes in Maze Hill, fellow Conservative Matthew Lock who got 994 votes in St Helens Ward, Robert Cooke who got 983 votes for the Tories in Ashdown and Labour pair Dominic Sebatien and Paul Barlow who scored 794 in Braybrooke and 718 in Castle Ward respectively.

The British National Party failed to return any councillors in the four seats they stood in but they did get 15 per cent of the vote in Hollington and 14 per cent in Tressell.

Click here to find ward by ward results and more news...

What do you think of the outcome? Was it what you expected? Do you think there is a better way of settling a drawn ward? Are you pleased the Tories came out on top? Perhaps you are celebrating the fact the BNP failed to win a seat. Let us know.