THE Lib Dems have wrestled a council seat off of Labour after they won a by-election in Ilford last night.

Shoaib Patel is now the new representative for Valentines ward, increasing the Lib Dems's presence in the council chamber to 11 seats.

Tory candidate Ikram Wahid finished second, while Labour came third and Respect fourth.

The election was called after Labour councillor Nadia Jabine Sharif resigned last month, following her marriage and move away from the borough to Cardiff.

The turnout was 29.7 per cent.


RESULTS IN FULL:

Ikram Wahid (Conservatives) 781 votes.

Surinder Pahl (Labour) 756 votes.

Shoaib Patel (Liberal Democrats) 963 votes.

Abdurahman Jafar (Respect) 112 votes.