DUDLEY’S Liberal Democrats have fallen victim to the national picture and been wiped off the council completely.

Kingswinford North and Wall Heath councillor Dave Tyler, the last Lib Dem left on Dudley Council, has lost his seat after 12 years - after the party took a pounding at the polls across the country in the local election.

The popular politician and retired police officer was beaten by 296 votes by Conservative Cheryl Billingham.

His defeat came as it began to emerge the Lib Dems had lost half their seats on local councils across Britain after many voters decided the party had had its chance last year and blown it with a series of broken promises on issues such as tuition fees.

The result was not unexpected after party leader Nick Clegg suffered the devastating loss of Sheffield Council to Labour in his home constituency.

But nevertheless when the news was finally in, Mr Tyler was left gutted to have felt the full force of the country’s fury with the Lib Dems.

Shortly before his defeat he’d told the News: “You get some councillors who really embed themselves in the community and just because people don’t like some one in Westminster they get ousted. I became a councillor because I wanted to do a better job than other people had in the past.”

Triumphant Tory Cheryl Billingham, who joins Paul Woodall and Denise Harley to make it three in a row for the Conservatives in Kingswinford North and Wall Heath, praised outgoing Mr Tyler’s efforts - saying he’d “worked very, very hard for this ward”.

Many other councillors and campaigners, both Tory and Labour, were also sad to see him go. Labour member and former councillor for Wordsley, Graham Debney, said: “He’s been a good councillor but that’s the fortunes of politics.”

For full results breakdown see our election module.