THERE was a mixture of joy and disappointment in the air as the South Lakeland District Council elections came to a close.

For a number of candidates, the boundary changes to the wards they were standing for would not be the only surprise this year as long-standing councillors were ousted, and a market town was divided.

In Ulverston, the seats for the East and West wards were hotly contested and saw previous fears of a political style 'Berlin wall' splitting the market town, come true.

In a clean Labour sweep, Mark Wilson, his wife Shirley-Anne and Dave Webster took Ulverston East in a victory Cllr Wilson was thrilled with.

Speaking after the result was announced, he said he was 'pleased to report' all candidates for Labour had won their seats.

He said: "Commiserations to those who stood against us, it was a strong turn out this year.

"I think this shows were are the best placed to serve the peoples' needs in Ulverston East."

The other side of the Ulverston 'wall' is now represented by the three Conservative candidates, Helen Irving, Janette Jenkinson and Amanda Rigg, who ran a fierce battle for the west.

Cllr Irving was delighted with the results and paid special tribute to everyone who helped along the campaign trail.

She said: "I want to thank everyone who helped me to get to this position from my campaign manager, Councillor Ben Shirley, who had been fantastic to Janette and Amanda for being with me day in day out.

"We have been through this election process together and they have been fantastic.

"That's been proven today."

The Conservative councillor also took her praise a little closer to home, thanking her grandchildren, Alfie and Macie for their relentless canvassing.

Back in January 2016, Town Councillor Mark Wilson raised the issue of the political split and told The Mail he thought the boundary changes were not in the best interests of Ulverston.

He said: “We don’t think it will really reflect the town effectively at all.

“We would see a political Berlin Wall put up with Ulverston divided in half between east and west."

In Furness, the Conservatives kept their hold with Cllr James Airey, his wife Cllr Caroline Airey and Cllr Andrew Butcher taking a total of 2,878 out of a possible 5,811.

James Airey, took the largest amount of votes securing 1,041.

Speaking after the results were revealed, he said: "It has been difficult to get the message out there getting people to understand that they were going to vote for three people this time.

"Furness peninsula is a big area to cover and we all had to work extremely hard to make sure all three councillors from one party were successful.

"We are delighted with the results, clearly it means a great deal as we had stiff opposition- this is what democracy is all about."

Going in to his tenth year as a district councillor, Mr Airey said he believed the vote was largely based on the campaigning the party had done regarding the proposed cuts to the area's fire service, and that 'personality' had played a major part too.

He said: "We work hard and we will stand up for our area regardless of the party whip, we will always try to do what is best for our area. "We will get stuck in." In a major shake up, one of the longest serving councillors in South Lakeland, Joss Curwen lost his seat in Broughton and Coniston, as the Independent held territory fell to Conservatives Matt Bereton and Anne Hall, and Lib Dem candidate Tracy Coward.

Ben Berry kept his Windermere seat but will do so alongside two Lib Dem candidates, Andrew Jarvis and Dyan Jones. Cllr Berry said: he was really excited his party was now 'gaining' on the Lib Dem hold in the area and that he has 'really pleased' with the results. Overall, the Liberal Democrats regained control over South Lakeland with a total of 29 seats to the Conservatives' 19 and Labour's three.

Results so far:

*Ambleside and Grasmere's two seats were taken by the Liberal Democrats, with Vicky Hughes getting 863 votes and Vivienne June Cassandra Rees, 780.

*Grange also fell to the Lib Dems in a clean swoop with Robin Nickel Ashcroft, Dave Khan and Eric Morrell claiming 3475 votes between them. *Cartmel - Conservative candidate Michael Scott Cornah won 687 votes with Lib Dem candidate, Gill Gardner taking 784.

*Furness Peninsula - All three seats won by the Conservative candidates James Airey 1014, Caroline Airey 986 and Andrew Butcher 878

*Broughton and Coniston candidates seclected

The following candidates have been elected for the district council Broughton & Coniston ward: BRERETON, Matt (Con), 972; COWARD, Tracy Jane (Lib), 1,029; HALL, Anne (Con), 1,081.

For a full breakdown of results see: http://ow.ly/eqsz30jPMm2 . #LocalElections2018