CONSERVATIVE Robin Walker has been re-elected as Worcester's MP in a stunning General Election victory.

The Tory was left rejoicing this morning after he nearly DOUBLED his majority to 5,646, in a bitter night for Labour candidate Joy Squires.

In the most hotly-anticipated election in a generation Mr Walker romped home with 22,534 votes, an increase of more than 3,000 compared to 2010.

The city's night of drama also saw UKIP's James Goad finish in third place and the Lib Dems lost their deposit after a polling disaster, with hopeful Federica Smith trailing in fifth below the Greens.

It ended up a desperate night for Labour, which had come into the contest looking to seize back the city seat it had lost five years ago, but Councillor Squires came second with 16,888 votes.

Mr Walker said: "It's amazing, incredible, I never expected to see this result - the people of Worcester will never know how much this means to me.

"For the people of this city to have put their trust in me means more than I can possibly say.

"It's absolutely phenomenal and deeply moving for me.

"Worcester is a place which is getting better, our country is getting better and I want to play my part in making Britain improve even further."

Labour had poured massive resources into trying to get the seat, but in the end Ed Miliband's torrid night nationally was mirrored here, with Councillor Squires suffering.

She managed to get 500 more votes than former party MP Mike Foster got in 2010, but it was not enough.

She said: "In the end, Worcester went the same way as Southern England has appeared to, and there were all sorts of factors at play.

"It might be to do with the economy, people looking at it and thinking 'it's picking up again' - this Government has only had one term and to get it back after just one (term) would have been a radical, unusual step.

"We ran an excellent campaign, had a very positive response on the doorstep, we need to now take some time and look at the factors influencing that result."

She said Labour would "fight another day", adding that her party would "hold Robin to his promises" and keep on campaigning on the NHS and low pay.

Elsewhere, UKIP continued its surge with James Goad garnering 6,378 votes, coming third by some distance.

Five years ago it was fifth with just 1,360 votes, reflecting a significant increase.

Mr Goad said: "It's an amazing result, five years ago we had 2.8 per cent of the vote and it's now 12 per cent.

"We are still a work in progress but we are getting there, I'd like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to get us to this point."

Green Louis Stephen made sure his party effectively replaces the Lib Dems as the city's fourth biggest force, getting 2,024 votes.

Mr Stephen, who ended up with just 735 in 2010, said: "Our vote has gone up two-and-a-half times, the Green Party is making great strides in Worcester.

"I'm ecstatic, it's a fantastic result, we are striving to improve all the time and fourth place is what we were hoping for.

"If you don't offer people a real alternative, they've got nowhere to go, on issues like Trident, PFIs and anti-austerity we're determined to carry on giving people that choice to vote for what they believe in."

Lib Dem Federica Smith endured a torrid night, coming fifth with 1,677 votes, just three per cent of the total, meaning she lost her £500 deposit.

In 2010 the Lib Dems got nearly 10,000 votes across the city, a huge decline.

After the result she said she wanted to "thank the family" for their help, despite the outcome.

Pete McNally, from the Trade Unionists and Socialist Coalition (TUS), was sixth with 153 votes while independent Mark Shuker was seventh with 69.

Mr McNally said: "Working class people have to fight back against austerity."

The turnout was 68.8 per cent in Worcester, with 49,860 votes cast and 137 spoilt papers.