LABOUR activists have been celebrating after the party won a council by-election in a “previously safe” Conservative ward.

Ciarron Clarkson won the Peacehaven West ward seat on Lewes District Council, beating Conservative candidate Katie Sanderson with a majority of more than 150 votes.

Liberal Democrat candidate Elizabeth Lee and Green candidate Holly Atkins came joint third.

The by-election had been triggered by the sudden resignation of Joe Miller as a councillor earlier this year.

Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, whose constituency extends into Peacehaven, described the result as a “big win” in a “previously held and safe Tory ward”.

The Labour gain on Lewes District Council now gives the party a total of four councillors, with the Conservatives remaining the largest party with 18 seats.

The Green Party has eight seats on the council, with two independents.

A coalition between the Liberal Democrats, Greens, Labour and the independents will remain in control of Lewes District Council following the result.

The news comes just a week after local elections across Sussex, which saw Labour take control of Worthing Borough Council for the first time, as well as winning the Rottingdean Coastal by-election in a ward that had historically supported the Conservatives.

However, Labour lost its majority control over Hastings Borough Council, after the Greens gained three seats at the party’s expense.

Across England, Labour gained an extra 22 councillors, while the Conservatives lost more than 330. The Liberal Democrats gained the most councillors across England with 194 extra seats, with the Greens gaining 63 in the local elections last week.