LABOUR regained control of Blaenau Gwent after six years in exile, as Alun Davies won the Valleys Assembly seat with a majority of more than 9,000.

Tredegar-born Mr Davies scored an emphatic victory after incumbent independent AM Trish Law decided not to stand again.

He also beat off a challenge from independent candidate Jayne Sullivan, taking 12,926 votes and a 64 per cent share of the ballot to her 3,806.and 18.8 per cent.

He achieved a majority of 9,120 and increased Labour's share of the vote by 32.6 per cent.

Although no party managed to pull in anywhere near as many votes as Labour, the Liberal Democrats performed particularly poorly, with candidate Martin Blakebrough polling just 367 votes and coming in last behind the British National Party, who picked up 948 votes.

Mr Blakebrough, who did not attend the count in Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre on Thursday night, got just 1.8 per cent of the vote, falling short of the five per cent needed to get his £500 deposit back.

The BNP’s Brian Urch will also not have his deposit returned after getting 4.8 per cent of the vote.

Plaid Cymru’s Darren Jones polled 1,098 votes, while Welsh Conservative candidate Bob Hayward got 1,066.

Turnout was 38.16 per cent, down from 44.5 per cent in 2007.

Speaking after returning officer Dylan John announced the result at 2.20am, Alun Davies said it would a "tremendous honour" and a "humbling experience" to serve Blaenau Gwent.

He said: "This moment has been a long time coming. Many of us have come home this evening, and Blaenau Gwent has finally come home to Labour."

He added that he would work hard to put Blaenau Gwent back at the top of the political agenda, with priorities including investment in the region, public services and regeneration.

Independent candidate Jayne Sullivan said she was proud of her campaign, and would leave the contest with "honesty and integrity".

Plaid’s Darren Jones said he was pleased to have improved the party’s share of the vote by one per cent, and felt the party was "moving in the right direction" in Blaenau Gwent.