Liberal Democrats are preparing to "fight back" after being wiped out at Epsom Council and being mauled in the general election.

The party lost three seats to the Conservatives and three seats to the RA in Epsom leaving it without any representatives on the council.

From Friday: Residents Associations hail "huge victory" as Lib Dems saddened by wipeout in Epsom

Former Liberal Democrat mayor Colin Taylor, who has been a councillor since 1999, said the party has had a presence on Epsom Council for the last 35 years.

After losing his seat in the election, Mr Taylor said: "Initially I felt a bit numb, a bit like a bereavement, but I have had time to adjust.

"It’s nothing to do with what we have done locally, but it’s entirely because it was on the same day as the general election."

Mr Taylor said everyone is now saying the "fight back begins today". Nationwide 8,000 people have joined the party since Friday, and locally he said they have had a least a dozen new members.

He said: "We are not going away, we are not giving up. We have a long record as Liberals of coming back from very difficult positions."

After the Liberal Democrat losses here and across the country, Lib Dem Julie Morris, who also lost her seat, said: "It’s a very, very sad day for democracy."

In Epsom the RA kept control of the council with the election of 31 councillors, up from 26 last time around, while the Tories lost three seats but gained four others. Labour held onto three seats.

Over in Mole Valley where third of the councillors were up for election, the Conservatives won control of the council and the Liberal Democrats lost four seats.

Losses included longtime councillors David Preedy, who represented Box Hill and Headley, and Bridget Lewis-Carr, who represented Leatherhead North.

In one of the wards, Holmwoods, the election of two councillors was cancelled at the last minute after the death of Liberal Democrat candidate Mark Longhurst, 82. He served as councillor since 2000.

Mr Preedy paid tribute to a "very respected" man and described his death as deeply sad. And with this ward election now on the horizon, he said Lib Dems need to pull together.

Looking at the national picture, he said: "There’s time for reflection, but things also need to be done to start rebuilding."

In Reigate and Banstead, there was a clean sweep of Conservative victories as a third of its Tory-led council stood for election.

Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Paul Kennedy, who came second in Mole Valley, said the Tories unleashed a "tsunami of fear and grievance" on Thursday.

Mr Kennedy said: "Election night was a terrible night for the Liberal Democrats across most of the country, and it was a very bad night indeed for Britain’s so-called democracy - but here in Mole Valley at least, liberal democracy is still alive and kicking."