The biggest election day in Sussex for four years takes place on Thursday, May 3.

The definitive list of candidates for the most hotly contested election in the county has been confirmed.

Almost 250 candidates from parties ranging from UKIP to the English Democrats and Respect will compete for all 54 seats on Brighton and Hove City Council.

The key fight for control of the council will be between the Conservative and Labour parties, which have 19 and 23 seats respectively.

Hangleton and Knoll, Goldsmid and East Brighton are likely to be key battlegrounds with the parties focusing much of their attention on these three wards.

But the Liberal Democrats, with three seats, and Greens, with six, also hope to extend their presence in the council chamber. The Lib Dems hope to have between nine and 12 councillors by May 4 and the Greens 12, doubling their tally by taking seats in wards such as Regency and Goldsmid.

Three candidates will be standing as Independents under the Dump the Dump banner, fighting the waste-sorting centre which is being built in Hollingdean.

Tracey-Ann Ross is an independent candidate in Preston Park standing against the controversial school catchment area review which was approved earlier this year.

Brighton and Hove Independents, which already has one seat on the council, is putting forward eight candidates.

The Protest Vote Party will be standing in two wards giving voters the option of supporting "none of the above" at the ballot box.

A handful of long-standing councillors will be retiring at the election, including Labour's Jack Hazelgrove and Francis Tonks in Moulsecoomb and Don Turner in North Portslade.

Labour councillor Simon Battle for Goldsmid will not be fighting to retain his seat as well as Tehmtan Framroze in Hollingbury and Stanmer.

Green councillor Sue Paskins is standing down from St Peter's and North Laine but the Greens' first ever councillor in the city, Pete West, will be battling to win back the ward he orginally took.

Richard Mallender, Green councillor for Preston Park, will also not be standing as he is moving to Nottingham.

Two former Hove Borough councillors are looking to make a political comeback in Goldsmid ward - Bob Bailey for the Liberal Democrats and Stephen Wade for the Conservatives.

Nine people have been nominated to serve on Rottingdean Parish Council.

The council has only nine seats so there will not need to be an election in May. The nine are: John Cummings; Kenneth Humphreys; Johan Van Vuuren; Barry Pinchen; Sally Prince; Geoffrey Rhodes; Bill Spencer; Christopher Stringer and Cathy Taylor.

To see a list of all the candidates in all Brighton & Hove's wards, click here.