Student Kate Taylor becomes Labour councillor at tender age of 18

Schoolgirl Kate Taylor has become one of the youngest ever councillors in the country at just 18 years old.

The A-level student won a seat on Plymouth City Council for the Labour party - winning with a majority of 839 - taking control from the Conservatives.

The teenager, studying at Notre Dame RC School in Plymouth, took to her Twitter account to voice her delight at winning her council seat.

"It's been an exhausting campaign but it was all so worth it. Real work starts here - and I can't wait," she wrote.

"Thank you so much for all your tweets tonight. I am incredibly happy and honoured to have been elected.

"But right now I need to get some sleep!!! Absolutely shattered, it’s been an incredible but exhausting day."

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Amazingly, within minutes of the youngster winning, she was trending on Twitter - becoming one of the most popular topics on the social network site.

"Yea, when my result came in, my username was tweeted so many times it trended for all of a couple of minutes," she wrote.

"Wait hold up a second. One last thought. I trended on Twitter tonight? So awesome."

However, Tom Bletsoe, who at 18 years and two months, took the crown as the youngest ever councillor when he was voted in as a Lib Dem representative in 2011.

The teenager, who has been a member of the UK Youth Parliament, plans on staying in the city.

She has already made plans for when she leaves school in the summer, having accepted a place to study at Plymouth University.