Labour faces a challenge on a "historic scale" if it is to win the general election on June 8, leader Jeremy Corbyn says, after the party suffered heavy losses in the local council polls.

Corbyn described the results as "mixed" and insisted they were "closing the gap" on the Conservatives.

In a statement, he accepted they had lost "too many" councillors and now faced a huge challenge if they were to regain power.

"The results were mixed. We lost seats but we are closing the gap on the Conservatives," he said.

"I am disappointed at every Labour defeat in the local elections. Too many fantastic councillors, who work tirelessly for their communities, lost their seats.

"We have five weeks to win the general election so we can fundamentally transform Britain for the many, not the few.

"We know this is no small task - it is a challenge on an historic scale. But we, the whole Labour movement and the British people, can't afford not to seize our moment."