WROUGHTON/CHISELDON; CON HOLD:SOME pundits had expected the contest for Wroughton and Chiseldon to be particularly close.

The Liberal Democrats, in the form of Frank Dodman, had been working hard to boost their party's share of the vote, but to no avail.

Former Swindon mayor Brian Ford's 1,539 of the 2,754 votes cast translated into 56 per cent of the poll an even more impressive showing than that of Coun Ford's Conservative Colleague, Nick Martin, who held on to Shaw and Nine Elms with a 55 per cent share.

The Lib Dems, meanwhile, achieved only a 22 per cent share significantly down on last year's 34 per cent.

There was even greater disappointment for the Green Party, meanwhile, with just six per cent for Robert Heritage.

Coun Ford said he was delighted with his party's showing, which maintained the ward's all-Tory status.