Eastleigh Conservatives have already begun the hunt to find a candidate to fight the next general election and to restore the constituency back to Tory hands.

The party lost its grip of the former Tory stronghold in the crucial 1994 by-election called after the tragic death of Stephen Milligan.

Then father of four Stephen Reid had been picked to keep the Tory flag flying in Eastleigh.

But the Conservatives were beaten into a humiliating third place when David Chidgey ended the Tories' long rule of Eastleigh by taking the seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Reid saw the 17,702 Conservative majority evaporate overnight. He finished 10,798 votes behind the Liberal Democrat victor and 1,559 adrift of Labour's Marilyn Birks in a seat that had been held by the Tories since the con-stituency was formed in 1955.

The Eastleigh Conservative Association stuck by Mr Reid and the constituency party fared better in the 1997 general election.

He made big inroads into the Liberal Democrat majority, coming a comfortable second to Mr Chidgey.

The Liberal Democrats polled 19,453 and Mr Reid chalked up 18,699.

Now the Eastleigh Conservative Association has announced that it has started the search for a prospective parliamentary candidate with the final selection meeting on October 12.

And the door is still open for Mr Reid to make another bid to return the Eastleigh seat to the Tories.

Local party agent Sylvia Sillar said the opportunity to apply is open to anyone on the official candidates list and to local people.

The advert has just gone out so it is too early to say what names are likely to be in the frame. Deadline for applications is September 7 and two days later the selection committee will sift through CVs.

The final decision will be taken on October 12.

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