IT was a confident David Evennett who arrived at the nearly finished new Crook Log sports centre in Bexleyheath for his Bexleyheath and Crayford count.

And he remained upbeat through the long hours of the night until the result was announced just after 4.30am.

At midnight he revealed he was "quietly confident. I've said from early on it will be third time lucky," he predicted.

He had waited eight years to return to the House of Commons, after losing the new seat of Bexleyheath and Crayford in the Labour landslide of 1997.

And his supporters were jubilant.

When the result came, it was not as close as the Tories might have feared.

Mr Evennett turned a Labour majority of 1,472 into a Tory one of 4,551, with a 7.2 swing to the Conservatives.

He ended the night with 19,722 votes compared to second place Nigel Beard, of Labour, who polled 15,171.

The Liberal Democrats increased their vote by 668 to 5,144, and the United Kingdom Independence Party by 522 to 1,302. The British National Party vote dropped by 167 to 1,241.

It was a bitterly disappointing night for Mr Beard. He had captured the seat when it was first created in the boundary changes of 1997.

And despite Labour's mounting losses nationwide, Mr Beard remained confident at the count that he could hold onto the seat, even if his already slender majority melted to just 100 or less.

But it was not to be.

Gracious in defeat, he said he had been honoured to serve the people of Bexleyheath and Crayford and was disappointed that link would now be severed.

He congratulated Mr Evennett on his "tenacity" in continuing to pursue victory. Mr Evennett was the only Tory MP defeated in 1997 still fighting to regain the same seat.

Mr Beard said that although the night was tinged with sadness and disappointment he took comfort in the fact that Labour was going to achieve an historic third term in government.

Now 68, Mr Beard revealed afterwards that he would not be fighting the seat again.

On the doorstep, Mr Beard said the most frequent subjects were immigration and Iraq. He said he was surprised that immigration was such an issue in an area with a relatively small immigrant population.

His support for the Thames Gateway Bridge was another issue, although he said many of its opponents were already committed Tory voters.

He said he had always supported the bridge because of the economic benefits it would bring and had not been prepared to compromise on the issue for the electoral gain.

But he added that environmental and other issues would also have to be properly dealt with.

For Mr Evennett, the public's concern had also been the bridge. "But again and again it was anti-social behaviour, crime and graffiti that people were worried about, right across the constituency."

Liberal Democrat Dave Raval said despite being the third party in a two-party marginal, the Lib Dems had "held their own".

For him, one of the major talking points was also the bridge, as well as issues such as council tax, environmental issues and pensioners. "Iraq has not been mentioned," he said.

And he pledged that despite their defeat in the election, the Lib Dem candidates would continue to campaign against the bridge.

UKIP candidate John Dunford said Europe had not been an issue on the doorstep largely because the major parties had ignored it. But he was pleased his share vote had increased.