Labour have taken overall control of Norwich City Council after a good night for them at the ballot box.

After running City Hall as a minority administration since 2004, Labour are celebrating taking overall control following the city council elections.

Fifteen seats were up for grabs in all 13 of the city's wards and Labour's key gains were in Bowthorpe, Lakenham and Catton Grove.

The first result, which came through just before 12.30pm, saw Labour's Deborah Gihawi comfortably hold onto her Mile Cross seat.

She garnered 1,019 votes, well ahead of second placed Green Richard Edwards. But it was the Green Party celebrating in Mancroft, where Lucy Howard saw off the challenge of Labour's Marion Maxwell to retain that ward.

Labour have held onto Sewell, through Kevin Barker, while the Greens easily kept hold of Nelson ward through David Rogers.

The Greens also retained Thorpe Hamlet, with Ben Price more than 200 votes ahead of Labour's Tony Waring in a ward rocked by the defection of Phil Hardy, the former leader of the Green group at Norfolk County Council to the Conservatives.

The Greens held onto both the seats in Wensum, one of which was triggered by the resignation of Green councillor Steve Altman, who was jailed for arson.

But Labour made a gain in Lakenham at the expense of the Liberal Democrats and in Catton Grove at the expense of the Conservatives.

They also took Bowthorpe from the Conservatives, with Sally Button way ahead of second placed Conservative Stuart Taylor.

Long-serving Crome Labour councillor David Bradford comfortably kept his seat and leader Brenda Arthur did likewise in University ward.

The one bright spot on a difficult evening for the Liberal Democrats was that Judith Lubbock retained her Eaton ward.

Ahead of these elections – and the two by-elections in Catton Grove and Wensum triggered by resignations – the make-up of the city council was Labour (18), Green Party (15), Liberal Democrats (four), Conservatives (two).

With the two Conservative loses wiping them out of City Hall completely, the make-up now is Labour (21), Greens (15), Liberal Democrats (3).

Labour also had a good night in Great Yarmouth, where they painted the town red, taking control of the borough council.

They took key seats from the Conservatives, including that of the council leader Steve Ames.

Polling stations closed at 10pm, with the wet and windy weather leading to a low turn-out for the elections across the UK.

Nationwide, where about 5,000 seats are at stake at 181 councils, the coalition parties have endured a rough ride.

But Prime Minister David Cameron will be hoping that Boris Johnson can buck the trend by securing re-election as London Mayor.

An eve-of-poll survey for the Evening Standard suggested that Mr Johnson - who gave a confident thumbs-up as he arrived to cast his ballot in north London on Thursday morning - is set for victory over Labour's Ken Livingstone, by a margin of 53pc to 47pc.

While two thirds of the local election results nationally are expected in the early hours of today (Friday), the final decision of Londoners on who will be their mayor is not likely to be known until this evening.

Make sure you get the Evening News on Saturday for full analysis of the local elections.

RESULTS

Key: Conservatives - C; Labour - Lab; Lib Dem - LD; Green - G; UK Independence Party - UKIP; Independent - Ind.

Star denotes sitting councillor.

Bowthorpe:

Jean Bishop (G) 350

SALLY BUTTON (Lab) 1268

Haydn Perrett (LD) 117

Stuart Taylor (C) 585

Lab hold - Maj 683

Turnout 27.6pc

Catton Grove:

Eve Collishaw (C) 703

Alexander Findlow (LD) 111

Judith Ford (G) 331

GAIL HARRIS (L) 1036

Paul Holmes (C) 629

Tony Park (G) 312

MIKE STONARD (L) 978

Leigh Tooke (LD) 124

L hold and L gain from C

(one seat was a by-election triggered by L resignation)

Turnout 28.1pc

Crome:

Crome:*DAVID BRADFORD (L) 1272

James Cross (LD) 125

Jessica Lancod-Frost (C) 288

Christine Way (G) 273

L hold - Maj 984

Turnout 28.5pc

Eaton:

Susan Curran (G) 379

Antony Little (C) 947

*JUDITH LUBBOCK (LD) 1820

Geraldine Waring (L) 677

LD hold - Maj 1173

Turnout 52.1pc

Lakenham:

Nick Bishop (G) 361

Steve Emmens (UKIP) 215

* David Fairbairn (LD) 658

PATRICK MANNING (L) 1149

Mathew Morris (C) 135

L gain from LD - Maj 491

Turnout 34.9pc

Mancroft:

LUCY HOWARD (G) 1077

Marion Maxwell (L) 943

Simon Nobbs (LD) 207

Oliver Watson (C) 288

Greens hold - Maj 134

Turnout 31.1pc

Mile Cross:

Richard Edwards (G) 409

* DEBORAH GIHAWI (Lab) 1,019

Oscar Pinnington (C) 297

Ian Williams (LD) 134

Lab hold - Maj 610

Turnout 24.1pc

Nelson:

Kate Atkins (LD) 173

Alexandra Davies (C) 249

Stuart Goodman (Lab) 697

DAVID ROGERS (G) 1644

Greens hold - Maj 947

Turnout 36.6pc

Sewell

KEVIN BARKER (Lab) 990

Anthony Barton (C) 332

Howard Jago (G) 700

Chris Thomas (LD) 123

Lab hold - Maj 290

Turnout 27.8pc

Thorpe Hamlet:

Jeremy Hooke (LD) 260

BEN PRICE (G) 1111

Stefan Rose (C) 407

Tony Waring (L) 792

G hold - Maj 218

Turnout 31.8pc

Town Close:

Mark Johnston (LD) 254

PAUL NEALE (G) 1333

Guy Owen (C) 481

John Sailing (L) 818

G hold - Maj 515

Turnout 33.6pc

Wensum:

NEIL BLUNT (G) 1386

CAROLINE BRIMBLECOMBE (G) 1276

Samuel Earl (L) 1012

Hannah Gascoigne (C) 196

Jess Hallybone (LD) 91

Simon Harrison (C) 189

Vaughan Thomas (L) 1039

Helen Whitworth (LD) 78

G hold and G hold

(one seat was a by-election triggered by G resignation)

Turnout 33.1pc

University:

*BRENDA ARTHUR (L) 1153

Thomas Cannon (C) 247

Robert Laird (G) 493

Andrew Wright (LD) 129

Lab hold - Maj 660

Turnout 26.2pc