Liberal Democrat Sandra Gidley held onto the Romsey seat by just 125 votes after two recounts.

Full results Sandra Gidley (Lib Dem) 22,465. Caroline Nokes (Conservative) 22,340. Matt Stevens (Labour) 4,430. Michael Wigley (UKIP) 1,076.

The Lib Dems' grip on the Romsey parliamentary seat has been dramatically reduced by the Conservatives.

Sandra Gidley held on to her Commons seat by a whisker - 125 votes to be precise and the result came after two recounts closely scrutinised by Lib Dem and Conservative officials.

At one stage it looked as though the Conservative candidate Caroline Nokes was going to take the seat back for her party - with whispers in the counting hall that there was only about 50 or so votes between them. Nearly 60 votes were declared void because electors had spoilt their ballot papers in one way or another.

Mrs Gidley returns to the Commons with a greatly reduced majority and the MP admitted that she had wondered at one stage whether she would retain the seat.

Moments after learning she had kept her seat Mrs Gidley said: "When I came here this evening, I thought I'd lost. Romsey is used to high drama but I never want to go through this drama again. I just want to go home to bed now and go to sleep."

"I never take the electorate for granted. I know the Tories desperately want the seat back," added a smiling Mrs Gidley, who said she was going to attend the Hampshire County Council election results at Romsey's Crosfield Hall today at 10pm.

In the last general election, held in June 2001, Mrs Gidley retained the seat for the Lib Dems with 22,756 votes - a majority of 2,370 after defeating the Conservative candidate Paul Raynes.

Mrs Gidley first became Romsey's MP in May 2000 after winning a by-election following the death of the town's Conservative MP Michael Colvin in a fire at his Hampshire home.

A full report on both the general and county council elections will appear in The Romsey Advertiser next Friday - May 13.