ALL five sitting County Councillors in the Exmouth, Topsham and Budleigh Salterton areas retained their seats.

ALL five sitting County Councillors in the Exmouth, Topsham and Budleigh Salterton areas retained their seats.

While the three Conservative councillors increased their majorities the two Lib Dem councillors saw theirs reduced.

Lib Dem Councillor for Littleham and Town, Eileen Wragg, saw her vote from the 2005 poll slashed from 2,690 to 2003, reducing her majority from 524 to a wafer-thin 10 by fellow town councillor, Conservative John Humphreys.

Her counterpart, former Chairman of Devon County, Liberal Democrat Cllr Brenda Taylor, held on to her Exmouth Brixington and Withycombe seat, similarly with a reduced vote - her majority was cut to 355 from 1,361.

However Tory County Councillor for Exmouth Halsdon and Woodbury, Bernard Hughes increased his majority from 54 to 482.

Budleigh Salterton Councillor, Conservative Christine Channon, retained her seat with a majority of 1,608, an increase from 1592.

And Topsham and St Loyes Conservative County Councillor, Andrew Leadbetter increased his majority from 820 to 1,186.

Cllr Brenda Taylor said: "I thank all those electors who voted for me last Thursday and returned me to County Hall for a further four years.

"Also many thanks to my helpers who worked so diligently for me during our campaign."

John Humphreys who narrowly failed to win the Littleham and Town Ward for the Conservatives said "I would have liked to have received six more of Eileen's votes...but the result was excellent to cut her majority from more than 500.

"My thanks (include) my election agent Tim Wood....and Hugo Swire who helped with door knocking which was a brave thing to do (in the context of the expenses scandal).

A magnanimous David Chapman who contested for the Conservatives the Exmouth Brixington and Withycombe Division said: "Congratulations to Brenda. I was only elected in 2007 (to the town and district councils) along with the rest of the Brixington team, so it was always to going be a big challenge to compete with such a well known name on the Exmouth political scene.

"That said the result was really encouraging with the Conservatives doing very well in Brixington and Brenda doing the same in Withycombe.

"It seems that local residents have responded to my positive campaign and the fact that as a team we have a clear record of hard work and doing what we say we will do. Exmouth is moving in the right direction and we hope to keep up that momentum. Many thanks to all those who helped and supported us.