A Conservative and Green surge has wiped out Labour's dominance of Brighton and Hove City Council, claiming the scalps of a series of high profile councillors.

Leader of the council Simon Burgess, deputy leader Sue John, mayor elect Ken Bodfish and chief whip Brian Fitch, who has served for 34 consecutive years, were all decapitated as the blues and greens took swathes of the city in yesterday's elections.

The Tories claimed 26 of the council's 54 seats - seven more than before the election but not enough to take overall control. Councillor Brian Oxley, leader of the Conservative group, said: "I am delighted with the result.

"We now have seats across the city from Portslade to Moulsecoomb."

Central Brighton is now a Green stronghold after the party took all 11 seats in Queen's Park, Hanover and Elm Grove, St Peter's and North Laine and Regency. With one seat in Preston Park, the Greens now have 12 councillors.

A jubilant Keith Taylor, the Green convener, said: "Brighton and Hove has the greenest vote in the country."

Early talk of Labour being cut down to just six councillors proved unfounded as they returned 13.

But the result still means Labour lost ten councillors. Gill Mitchell, who has assumed leadership of the Labour group, said: "The Tories haven't done as well as they thought but we haven't done as badly as perhaps we thought."

The Lib Dems were reduced to two seats after losing in Regency while Councillor Paul Elgood and leader Councillor David Watkins were re-elected in Brunswick and Adelaide.

Independent Jayne Bennett was re-elected in Stanford while Anne Giebeler was squeezed out of the hotly contested Goldsmid ward.

The biggest shocks of the day came from South Portslade, North Portslade and Moulsecoomb and Bevendean where the Conservatives took one seat in each ward.

They are now the largest party and just one tantalising seat away from having control of the council on the vote of the mayor, who will probably be a Conservative.

Last night there was talk of leadership challenges and possible deals between parties. If the Lib Dems, Greens and Labour decide to work together they would have 27 seats and could control the council.