IN James Cook's time, mutineers were fed to sharks.

There are surely some Labour councillors on Stockton Borough Council who would not mind seeing a few recent deserters of the party in the town having the same fate as once available to the famous Marton-born explorer.

The authority is marginally under Labour control; so marginal, in fact, that the party does not even have a majority on the council.

Labour holds only 27 seats, with the Tories, Liberal Democrats and independent councillors holding 28 between them.

Speculation is rife that, come next Friday, control of the council will be in new hands.

This is hard to believe given that only six years ago, Labour had 38 seats on the council, more than three times that of its nearest rival, the Conservatives.

The collapse in Labour's fortunes in the borough coincides with the rise of independent councillors in Thornaby and Billingham.

By far the most vocal of these two groups is the Thornaby Independents Association (TIA).

Led by outspoken former Labour councillor Steve Walmsley, the TIA took eight seats from Labour in the 2003 election.

Over the past two years, Coun Walmsley, who was de-selected from the party, has been involved in a bitter feud with his former colleagues.

An investigation was launched and a town clerk on Thornaby Council lost her job when she was accused by Labour of allowing the TIA to use a photocopier to print political leaflets.

In the furore that followed, Labour councillor Steve Lunn resigned his position as deputy whip of the local party, complaining that a "cancer has been eating away at the healthy membership".

Coun Walmsley ran into more trouble last month when he was found guilty by the Standards Board of England of calling a member of the public a "f***ing prostitute" during a council meeting.

Labour has not been helped by boundary changes either, which will see Ingleby Barwick - previously the biggest ward in England - divided in two, going from one councillor to six.

None of this seems to bode well for Labour council leader Bob Gibson, who is also chairman of the North-East assembly. But Coun Gibson, who won a majority of only 130 at the last election and has come in for criticism from senior figures within his party, refuses to be downbeat.

He said this week: "You should not pre-judge anything. One thing is for certain, we'll be fighting every seat."