Labour tightened its strong grip on Sandwell Council at last week's local elections - picking up one extra seat.

The same trend continued as seen across Halesowen, with existing councillors re-elected to their seats.

Labour has 51 councillors, as opposed to 50 last year. The Tories lost two of their seats, bringing their total number of seats down to 10.

The Liberal Democrats picked up an extra seat, giving them six wards.

The far-right BNP did not win any seats, leaving it with its four existing wards.

In Blackheath Labour councillor Bob Price was returned to the ward.

Bob polled 1341 votes, with closest rival Debbie Elwell for the Conservatives gaining 1027 votes.

Ryan Brigdale picked up 633 votes for the British National Party and Aldo Mussi polled just 132 for The Green Party. The turnout in the ward was 35.3 per cent.

In Rowley, Bob's wife Barbara Price was re-elected for Labour, picking up a large majority with 1511 votes, with Chris Kelly polling 760 for the Conservative Party.

John Salvage gained 489 votes for the BNP and Vicky Dunn polled 142 for The Green Party. The turnout was 32.5 per cent.

In Cradley Heath and Old Hill councillor Anne Shackleton won back her seat with 1483 votes.

Her closest rival was Alan Nugent who gained 989 votes. Martin Phillips won 584 votes for the BNP and Theresa Yates won 230 for The Green Party. The turnout in Cradley Heath and Old Hill was 34 per cent.

In Oldbury Elaine Giles was re-elected for the Labour party, with 2041 votes compared to Abdul Qayyum's 1129 votes for the Tories. The turnout was 36.6 per cent.