THORNBURY and Alveston have stayed Lib Dem heartlands after yesterday’s district elections.

Lib Dem councillors Clare Fardell and Neil Halsall were returned to represent Thornbury North ward on South Gloucestershire Council, both with strong 500 vote margins between them and the other candidates.

The pair managed to fight off competition from two independent candidates, Vincent Costello and Rob Hudson, who had stood for election as members of the Save Thornbury’s Green Heritage residents’ group, which is against the proposed Park Farm housing development.

Cllr Halsall said: "I am very pleased, thrilled and relieved. We’re thankful that the people have put their trust in us again."

In Thornbury South and Alveston Shirley Holloway and Maggie Tyrrell both retained their district seats.

Cllr Holloway said: "We are delighted to keep the South Gloucestershire seats and we will continue to work for Thornbury and Alveston as hard as we can, achieving the best for the town."

Lib Dem success was repeated in nearby Charfield where outgoing Sandra O’Neil was replaced by her husband John O’Neil, also a Lib Dem.

However, there was an upset elsewhere in the district with the loss of Cllr Peter Tyzack, Lib Dem, in Pilning and Severn Beach, who was beaten by Tory Robert Griffin with less than 100 votes between the two men.

The former parliamentary candidate saw his local vote drop from 610 at the last local election in 2007 to 538 this year, which was not enough to stave off his Tory challenger.

Mr Tyzack, who had served on South Gloucestershire Council for 15 years since the authority’s inception in 1996, said his defeat was a result of the national backlash towards the coalition government.

He said: "People have wanted to send a message to London, but London doesn’t control what goes on in the council chamber of South Gloucestershire."

The Conservatives were also celebrating last Thursday with comfortable wins in both Almondsbury and the Severn ward.

Cllr Sheila Cook was returned to the district council taking 68 per cent of the vote in Almondsbury, and Cllr Matthew Riddle attracted 1,325 votes, 1,000 more than the other two candidates in his Severn ward.