"PUNISHED" Labour will need to fight to win back the trust of people in Wyre Forest, former Worcester-shire County Council chairman Nigel Knowles has warned.

It follows a drubbing by voters in the Worcestershire County Council elections in which the party lost six seats, leaving them without a single county councillor in Wyre Forest.

The Independent Health Concern group gained four seats from Labour and one from the Conservatives. It now has six councillors because John Gordon, who was elected on a Labour ticket in 1997, was re-elected on Thursday after switching to Health Concern.

The make-up of the council is now Conservatives 26, Labour 14, Liberal Democrats 8, Health Concern 6 and the Independent and Liberal Group 3.

Mr Knowles, who also stood without success as a parliamentary candidate in Ludlow last week, was among several high-profile Labour losers.

Also ousted were Carol Warren, leader of the county council for the last four years and Labour ward member for Franche for the last 12 years, and John Wardle.

Mr Wardle was chairman of Hereford and Worcester County Council for four years until re-organisation and was twice chairman of Wyre Forest District Council.

Mr Knowles, who announced he would try to regain the Habberley & Blakebrook seat in the future and who continues to serve as district councillor for Franche, said: "I think there's one issue in the whole of Wyre Forest and that's hospital, hospital, hospital.

"This issue has really caused the Labour Party to lose massive popular support. Decades of work was virtually destroyed and my party was duly punished."

He added: "Our job now in the Labour party is to try and rebuild and fight for hospital services and for county council services. We need to win back the trust of the people in Wyre Forest."

But he warned it was a "disaster" from which the party "might not ever fully recover".

Mr Wardle, who continues to serve as a district councillor for Wolverley, said: "I am totally and utterly bewildered by the action of the Health Concern group in standing against me.

"I have campaigned for the hospital's retention for three years. Why I was opposed by this hospital group I shall never, ever know. I have been locked out."

He added: "I now fear the wrath of the Labour Government against Kidderminster."

He said he was concerned there would now be a threat to existing hospital services in the town, adding: "We may well see the conversion or destruction of the existing building itself."

The Conservatives, who have strengthened their position as the party with the most seats, seem likely to try to run the county council with a minority administration.

However, it will be without long-serving Ken Peers who lost his Rock & Bewdley seat after 24 years to Frank Baillie of Health Concern.

Councillor Gordon was chosen as leader of the Health Concern group following a meeting on Monday.

He said: "We are not in a position of making deals. We are independent and as such we will represent the people of Wyre Forest from an independent standpoint.

"We will not be forming any alignments with the Conservatives and we will treat each issue on its merits."

He added Health Concern's county councillors were looking to take over the watchdog role from Community Health Councils which are due for abolition.

He said: "The county council is expected to take the place of the CHC health scrutiny body and we are now well placed to play a major part in this role."

Three county councillors have banded together to form an Independent and Liberal group following last week's elections.

The new Independent and Liberal Group, which replaces the "non-aligned group" from the previous council, consists of Wyre Forest District Council leader and Liberal councillor Mike Oborski, Pershore Independent councillor John Smith, and newly-elected Liberal councillor Fran Oborski.