BLUE is the colour in the divisions south of East Hampshire judging by the early results of the Havant Borough vote.

It’s been a comfortable night for David Keast in the Hampshire County Council elections as the Conservative has held his Cowplain & Hart Plain seat.

He’s increased his share of the vote from 45 to 70 per cent with Labour candidate, Howard Sherlock, coming in a distant second with 11 per cent.

Keast picked up 2,539 votes to Sherlock’s 401 while Fiona Drinan (Lib Dem), John Picard (UKIP), and Bruce Holman (Green), received 355, 198 and 153 crosses apiece on the ballot paper.

Turnout was 30 per cent, down from 33 per cent in 2013, while it was a poor 21 in the North East Havant division where Jackie Branson (Con) won with 44 per cent of the vote.

She received 1,304 votes while Labour candidate, Phil Munday, came second with 655. Faith Ponsonby (Lib Dem), Malc Carpenter (UKIP) and Richard Lanchester (Green), followed with 559, 368 and 108 votes apiece.