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image captionThe Conservatives took control of Harlow as Labour held onto just one of the seven seats it was contesting
The Conservatives have taken control of Harlow Council from the Labour Party for the first time in nine years.
Labour held on to just one of the seven seats it was contesting and council leader Mark Ingall lost his seat.
The Conservatives now have 20 seats on the district council compared with the 12 held by Labour.
In a tweet, Mr Ingall said he was disappointed about both losing his seat and his party losing council control. I am proud to have served as a Labour councillor and proud to have represented Bush Fair, he said.
Landlord fined £200 over malicious Facebook post which caused editor to fear attack
A hyperlocal news editor who feared his office and home could be attacked following a malicious Facebook post about him has urged more severe sentencing powers for offences targeting journalists after his aggressor was fined £200.
Michael Casey, who runs the Your Harlow and Your Thurrock websites in Essex, feared for his family’s safety after a man posted lies that he had been caught with thousands of indecent images of children.
Local pub landlord Karl Morris pleaded guilty on Thursday to sending a public online communication that he knew to be false and for the purposes of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety contrary to Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.