Conservatives took four seats from Labour - including a surprise win in Ryhope - and picked up a fifth in Doxford.

The independents also took two seats from Labour in the Copt Hill and Houghton wards, where candidates campaigned against the contraversial Biffa landfill site.

More election news
Tory leader: We can go on to win Sunderland

Labour leader defiant after dent at polls

Easington, Durham City and Chester-le-Street results

Success for Labour in Durham

Labour gained just one seat, making a net loss of five.

But the party still has a healthy majority in Sunderland, and will also control the new super-authority in County Durham.

Election Results for Sunderland

Barnes
Gulya Dixon, Liberal Democrat - 489
Robert Watson Fletcher, British National Party - 308
Anthony Morrissey, Conservative - 1,712
Philip Routledge, Labour - 809
38 per cent poll
Conservative hold

Castle
Jon Dewart, Liberal Democrat - 182
Gary Stephen Duncan, Left Party - 90
Tommy Foster, Labour - 1,376
Clair Rachel Hall, Conservative - 343
John Humble, British National Party - 350
Ronald Joseph McQuillan, Independent - 264
30.5 per cent poll
Labour hold

Copt Hill
George Edward Brown, Conservative - 451
Joan Carthy, Labour - 1,123
Derrick Smith, Independent - 1,487
Terence Colin Woolford, British National Party - 197
36.7 per cent poll
Independent gain

Doxford
Lewis Green, Liberal Democrat - 371
Linda Mitchell, Labour - 991
Peter Swain, British National Party - 292
Richard Steven Vardy, Conservative - 1,178
35.7 per cent poll
Conservative gain

Fulwell
Frederick Donkin, British National Party - 352
Bob Francis, Conservative - 2,092
Bob Price, Labour - 1,032
Geoffrey Michael Pryke, Liberal Democrat - 459
43.5 per cent poll
Conservative hold

Hendon
Sammy Doran, Indpendent - 557
Nathan Hazlett, Liberal Democrat - 219
Deborah Anne Lorraine, Conservative - 517
Michael Mordey, Labour - 874
Ian Sayers, British National Party - 234
29.5 per cent poll
Labour gain

Hetton
Jim Blackburn, Labour - 1,843
Douglas Ian Middlemiss, Conservative - 821
30.6 per cent poll
Labour hold

Houghton
Edward Ian Allen, Conservative - 355
Sheila Patricia Ellis, Independent - 1,415
Joe Lawson, Labour - 1,168
Kevin Robe, British National Party - 219
35.8 per cent poll
Independent gain

Millfield
Bob Bowman, Labour - 558
Paul Dixon, Liberal Democrat - 1,059
Pauline Featonby-Warren, UK Independence Party - 40
Gwennyth Gibson, Conservative - 346
Gary Robert Hollern, Independent - 35
Christopher Andrew Lathan, British National Party - 179
Margaret Snaith, Independent - 84
32.3 per cent poll
Liberal Democrat hold

Pallion
Paul Michael Humble, British National Party - 377
Michael Henderson Leadbitter, Conservative - 645
Sham Vedhara, Liberal Democrat - 305
Amy Wilson, Labour - 1,055
31.6 per cent poll
Labour hold

Redhill
Martin Benjamin Anderson, Conservative - 279
Rob Boyce, Liberal Democrat - 185
Bryan Charlton, Labour - 1,315
Ian Leadbitter, Independent - 359
John Martin, British National Party - 517
31 per cent poll
Labour hold

Ryhope
Ronald Bainbridge, Labour - 983
Christopher David Fairs, Conservative - 1,012
Patrick Lavelle, Independent - 509
David Slone, Liberal Democrat - 209
Wayne Watts, British National Party - 291
37.3 per cent poll
Conservative gain

Sandhill
Carl Donkin, British National Party - 358
Robert Peel, Liberal Democrat - 327
Jim Scott, Labour - 1,196
Paula Wilkinson, Conservative - 662
30.7 per cent poll
Labour hold

Shiney Row
Carol Attewell, Liberal Democrat - 424
Ian Baillie, British National Party - 350
Anne Hall, Labour - 1,571
Joyce Wake, Conservative - 900
33.4 per cent poll
Labour hold

Silksworth
Alf Fowler, Liberal Democrat - 275
Patricia Anne Francis, Conservative - 866
Anthony James, British National Party - 406
Pat Smith, Labour - 1,503
36.7 per cent poll
Labour hold

Southwick
Alan Brettwood, British National Party - 530
Rosalind Copeland, Labour - 1,151
Terence William Docherty, Conservative - 702
Anne Griffin, Liberal Democrat - 263
32.7 per cent poll
Labour hold

St Anne's
Shaun Cudworth, Conservative - 528
Simon Dawes, Liberal Democrat - 371
Julie Amanda Potter, British National Party - 415
Susan Watson, Labour - 1,089
29.5 per cent poll
Labour hold

St Chad's
Darryl Oliver Dixon, Labour - 1,206
Lynne Hudson, British National Party - 249
Diana Lambton, Liberal Democrat - 185
Alan Wright, Conservative - 1,660
41.7 per cent poll
Conservative gain

St Michael's
Lewis Malcolm Atkinson, Labour - 797
Joanne Cruickshanks, British National Party - 216
Margaret Forbes, Conservative - 2,046
Les Wascoe, Liberal Democrat - 342
40.8 per cent poll
Conservative hold

St Peter's
Stephen Bonallie, Labour - 840
Diana Talbott Matthew, Liberal Democrat - 443
Lilian Walton, Conservative - 1,501
Derek James Wright, British National Party - 358
37.8 per cent poll
Conservative hold

Washington Central
Hilary Johnson, Conservative - 833
John McLelland, Liberal Democrat - 741
Dianne Elizabeth Snowdon, Labour - 1,283
Clive John Thompson, British National Party - 328
36.3 per cent poll
Labour hold

Washington East
Malcolm Bannister, Liberal Democrat - 401
Paul Masters, British National Party - 130
Neville Padgett, Labour - 1,291
Ivan Richardson, Conservative - 1,384
37.1 per cent poll
Conservative gain

Washington North
Lynne Baillie, British National Party - 329
Kathleen Anne Irvine, Conservative - 625
John Kelly, Labour - 1,490
Steve Thomas, Liberal Democrat - 365
32.3 per cent poll
Labour hold

Washington South
David Griffin, Liberal Democrat - 390
Mildred Smart, British National Party - 229
Eddie Wake, Conservative - 1,326
Linda Williams, Labour - 1,173
37.5 per cent poll
Conservative gain

Washington West
Irene Bannister, Liberal Democrat - 538
Olwyn Bird, Conservative - 763
Bernard Scaplehorn, Labour - 1,392
Doreen Smart, British National Party - 326
33.9 per cent poll
Labour hold