THE Liberal Democrats were celebrating today after winning the traditional Labour safe seat of Atherton.

The Labour strangle hold was broken last night when Bob Splaine narrowly defeated Mark Aldred and Conservative Rosina Oxley to win a seat on Wigan Council.

Mr Splaine won the by-election in the Atherton ward seat left vacant following the death last December of veteran Labour campaigner Joe Clarke.

Mr Splaine of Cumberland Road, Atherton, a retired Royal Mail manager, Army medic and coal miner, polled 830 votes to Mark Aldred's 796 and Rosina Oxley's 66 in a 19.9 per cent turnout. The man, who with his wife, Ilse, has raised thousands of pounds locally for cancer research, said: "I think this result is a clear message to Labour. At the last election they had a 700 majority. We have a Liberal Club in town but the Labour Club closed."

Mr Splaine, 65 and retired, is a former chairman of Atherton and District Scouts, who worked at the Royal Ordnance Factory at Patricroft then spent 20 years with the Post Office in the Bolton area.

For the past decade he and his wife Ilse have held yearly summer "Strawberry fairs" at their home, raising funds for the Christie Hospital.