THE Conservatives are hoping to maintain control of Adur as the county goes to the polls tomorrow.

The local election is one of a number being held across Sussex with Hastings and Crawley also set to be key battlegrounds.

Four of the county’s 12 district and borough councils are set for a shake-up once the votes have been counted.

The electorate is also being asked to select a new police commissioner.

Adur District Council Conservatives hope to remain in power once the count is declared on Friday.

The Tories currently hold 20 seats on the council, ahead of Ukip with six, Labour with one and two independent councillors.

Fourteen of the 29 wards will see voting on May 5 with Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Ukip, Labour and the Green Party all putting up candidates.

The most dramatic count is set for Crawley where the existing Labour administration holds the power by just one councillor.

The division of power could not be tighter, with 19 Labour councillors and 18 Conservatives. A third of council seats will be decided on Friday.

There has also been much doorstepping in Worthing ahead of borough council elections – where a third of the authority’s seats will be decided on.

However, the Conservatives are already guaranteed to retain control. The Tories hold 30 seats with four Liberal Democrats making up the nearest challenging party.

A number of parish councillors across the county will also be selected in a busy day at the ballot box.

Hastings Borough Council will see half of its seats contested when residents head to the polls.

The council has been led by Labour since 2010 and the party currently has 23 councillors with the Conservatives, the only other party to have elected members, having eight.

Voters will also go to the polls to choose a new Hastings borough councillor for the Old Hastings ward and East Sussex county councillor for St Helens and Silverhill to replace the ward’s previous incumbent John Hodges. Cllr Hodges died in February at the age of 70.

He had served the council for almost six years, holding a number of senior positions including chairman of the council’s charity committee and vice-chairman of the museums committee.