THE Liberal Democrat party has tonight lost almost half of its councillors in West Oxfordshire.

Three Lib Dem wards fell into the clutches of the majority Conservative party, shrinking the number of non-Tory councillors to just four out of the 48.

Amongst the Lib Dems to lose their place was leader Richard Andrews.

A jubilant Conservative leader Barry Norton said: "What a fantastic night for the Conservatives.

"We started defending 11 seats, held them all and we have got four seats including all three the Liberal Democrats held."

Deputy Liberal Democrat leader Julian Cooper said: "It was a very disappointing evening for us.

"I think it was national issues to some extent. There are tough times and tough decisions.

"We are experiencing major setbacks as the consequence of being in government but we will battle on and we shall be back."

The make-up of the council is now 44 Conservatives, four Liberal Democrats and one Labour.