NO one could accuse Ron Woodley of being lazy.

As part of his election campaign, the new councillor for Southend's Thorpe ward knocked on 3,000 doors in just three weeks.

This kind of determination is one of the reasons independents did so well in last week's election.

In Castle Point, the Canvey Independent Party increased the number of seats it had on the borough council from 11 to 15 and took all but one of the 11 seats available on the new Canvey Town Council.

In Southend, Alliance Southend leader Martin Terry became the first independent in decades to be re-elected.

And in Thurrock, three independents hold the balance of power, after both the Tories, on 24 seats, or Labour, on 22, failed to win a majority.

One of the biggest coups of the election in Southend was Mr Woodley's victory, in what was once a Tory stronghold.

Thorpe Bay has always been true blue, but in this election, voters sent out a clear message that their loyalty could not be taken for granted.

Residents said their problems were not being listened to and their concerns about overdevelopment were not being addressed.

Perhaps because of this, the ward had the highest turnout of any in Southend, at 46.3 per cent.

Mr Woodley is known in the area as the chairman of the Burges Residents' Association.

He believes part of his success was due to people being sick of national party politics and wanting someone to represent them on local issues.

Mr Woodley said: "The first duty of a councillor is to his residents and second to his party, and not the other way around.

"I believe the role of a local councillor is foremost to serve the community. My party whip is the 8,000 residents of Thorpe Bay."

Mr Woodley said one of the things Thorpe residents were very concerned about was overdevelopment, as more and more houses were being turned into flats.

He added: "It has to be a balanced mix. If a planning application comes up, they have to look at what else is in the area and look at the percentages of houses and flats already present.

"I know they have got to construct more homes, but it doesn't all have to be flats."

As chairman of the residents' association, he was used to working towards solving problems.

When a homeowner recently expressed her concerns about a phone mast application, the association delivered leaflets - complete with envelopes - to 250 homes in the area in 24 hours, urging householders to write to the council about the application.

"That's what it is all about," Mr Woodley said. "I live in the Thorpe ward. What affects the residents affects me."

Mr Woodley says the key to his 792 vote victory over Tory Nigel Folkard was that his campaign was planned with military precision.