Liberals victorious in Littlehampton by-election

Hundreds of residents turned out to vote in the River ward by-election.

And once all the votes had been counted, it was the Lib Dems’ Berni Millam who reigned victorious.

She amassed 263 votes – 31.3 per cent of the total vote – beating Labour candidate Alan Butcher into second, with only 220 votes.

The Tories, who had formerly held the seat until their representative councillor, Simon Weston, resigned from the town council, only secured 180 votes – beating last place UKIP by the narrowest of margins, only two votes.

Councillor Millam, of Hill Road, said: “I was shocked when I heard the results because I really didn’t expect it.

“Its been a lot of hard work but the residents have put their trust in me and now I have got to work as hard as I can for them.”

Mrs Millam, a former nurse, said that the broken promises made by the NHS to build a new hospital in Littlehampton had ‘disgusted’ her. She said this would be one of the main things she would be fighting for.

She joins fellow Lib Dem councillor Ian Buckland and independent Malcolm Belchamber in River ward.

Mrs Millam wished to thank all the other candidates for their determined campaigns.