Labour continue their run of strong results by taking Dover from the Conservatives.

The Residents Association hold Epsom and Ewell, despite losing two seats.

The Lib Dems and Conservatives both picked up one more seat each.

Folkestone and Hythe remains under no overall control, but the Greens and Labour made advances.

The Tories lost eight seats, including that of the former council leader.

Labour have taken control of Gravesham council in Gravesend, from no overall control.

Conservatives suffer heavy losses as they lose control of Wealden for the first time in 25 years.

Ben Weisz
BBC Radio Sussex political reporter

What started as a tremor under the Sussex political map appears to be rather more seismic than expected.

Not only have Labour bolstered their majorities as expected in Crawley and in Worthing, they’re talking seriously about a majority in Brighton and Hove.

But the really massive shift appears to be in the Sussex countryside. Conservative majorities in Wealden and in Mid Sussex - previously safe as houses - crumbling before our very eyes.

In a year where leaflets were dominated by sewage, planning and local wildlife, the party will need to ask hard questions about why it’s failed to appeal to its rural heartlands this time - and one suspects glib Westminster-centric answers like “partygate” or “trussonomics” won’t cut the mustard.

The Conservatives have retained control of Reigate and Banstead, although they now have three fewer seats.

They have 23 seats - the number needed to have a majority on the council.

The Green Party gained two seats, with Labour also now having a seat on the council.

More Conservative leaders have lost their seats, says BBC Radio Sussex political reporter Ben Weisz.

The Lib Dems have held Eastbourne Borough Council.

They gained one seat, with the Conservatives losing one seat.

Hamish Mureddu-Reid
BBC News, South East

There's no overall control at Elmbridge Borough Council.

The Lib Dems gained six seats, with the Conservatives losing four.

The Lib Dems now have 19 seats, still six short of an overall majority.

The Lib Dems have held Woking.

Charlotte Wright
BBC South East political editor

The so-called "blue wall" appears to be crumbling before our eyes.

The Conservatives are losing seats right across the South East.

In Canterbury, where sewage is a big issue, the leader has lost his seat to the Lib Dems, and another candidate there conceded before counting had even begun.

In Folkestone and Hythe, the Greens have been making waves.

They’ve been campaigning hard against a controversial development in Hythe, and it’s paid off – they’ve unseated the Conservative leader and become the largest party.

In Lewes, where the Conservatives were the largest party but not in control of the council, there’s a rumour that they might be almost wiped out.

Watch out for once Tory strongholds like Wealden too – that’s been Conservative since the 1970s.

But with counting under way, the opposition parties there are already in talks about a "rainbow coalition".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has said Runnymede Borough Council has gone to no overall control.

Provisional figures are 20 Conservative councillors and 21 opposition members, according to Chris Caulfield's tweet.

Labour gain a seat while the Conservatives lose one on Crawley Borough Council.

The Labour group now has 20 members, needing 19 seats required for a majority.

Ashford remains under no overall control.

Hamish Mureddu-Reid
BBC News, South East

We're hearing from our reporters at the counts that both the leaders of Folkestone and Canterbury councils have lost their seats.

Conservative leader of Folkestone & Hythe District Council, David Monk, has lost his seat to the Greens. With just two wards still to declare, the Conservatives have only held one seat.

Meanwhile, Canterbury's Tory leader Ben Fitter-Harding has lost to Peter Old from the Lib Dems.

Tunbridge Wells remains under no overall control.

The council has seen a trend away from the Conservatives after they lost control of Tunbridge Wells in 2021.

Then in 2022, the Tories lost 10 seats and the Lib Dems became the largest party.

Worthing sticks with Labour.

Charlotte Wright
BBC South East Political Editor

In recent years, Brighton and Hove has been a battle between the Greens and Labour, with neither managing to win overall control.

At the last election, Labour secured just enough seats to form a minority administration, but they had to hand over power to the Greens a year later when some of their councillors left the party in a row over antisemitism.

This year, the stakes are high for both, with each hoping to win outright.

The city has the country’s only Green MP, Caroline Lucas. And it is one of a few places where they’re in with a realistic chance of winning the first Green overall majority on a local authority.

But Labour have been fighting hard too. They’ve sent a string of shadow cabinet ministers to campaign on the coast, chasing every possible council win they can get in the lead up to the next general election.

Fiona Irving
BBC South East Today reporter

Since it was formed almost 50 years ago, Wealden has always been Conservative.

Last time this district council went to the polls in 2019, nearly two thirds of the seats went to the Tories, but today there’s a distinct buzz in the air that that status quo might be about to change.

A Liberal Democrat candidate told me: “It will be huge if the Conservatives lose control here.”

Labour have never held a seat in Wealden.

One Tory candidate says it doesn’t look good for them, but puts that down to the Conservatives in power in Westminster rather than a reflection on how they’re running the district.