WHO rules Bury Council will not be decided until 1pm today after one of the most controversial Local Election counts in the borough's history.

Before the count, the Tories ruled the town hall, with 23 councillors to Labour's 20.

Labour ended the night with four gains and hoped to also win the decisive Ramsbottom seat from the Tories.

But, incredibly, two recounts showed no clear winner in the Ramsbottom seat and one recount concluded there was a tie.

As counting carried on until 5am, returning officer Mike Kelly decided to suspend the count until 1pm.

If there is a tie, it could be decided by the toss of a coin or drawing names from a hat.

If Labour win it, they would have 26 seats and be in overall control of the council.

If the Tories hold on to the seat, Labour would have the most councillors but would not have overall control.

Labour ousted all three Lib Dem councillors up for re-election, leaving the Lib Dems with five representatives on the council.

Labour also gained two seats from the Tories - Elton and Radcliffe North.

Labour leader Cllr Mike Connolly said: "In 40 years of politics, I've never seen anything like it.

"The prospect of the control of the council being decided by one vote or the toss of a coin is thrilling, though a coin toss is perhaps unfortunate, but those are the rules."

Bury South MP Ivan Lewis said: "To take five seats has exceeded all our expectations.

"The people of Bury have sent a clear message to the Government that it can't be business as usual tomorrow morning. The cuts are too deep and they need to listen to the public."

* In Bury, 41 per cent of the borough's population voted in the Alternative Vote referendum.

The result is due later today.