THE British National Party (BNP) is to target voters across North Yorkshire at the forthcoming local elections.

The far right party is hoping to grab seats by fielding its largest number of candidates ever - and will contest seats in Richmondshire for the first time.

In total, the party is to challenge for 180 seats in Yorkshire in next month's elections and hopes to snatch a further 26 places on town and parish councils.

A BNP spokesman for Yorkshire said: "We have gone from 300 candidates nationally to just over 800 in one year.

"British people are laid back and slow about complaining, but I think we will keep growing and take power in 15 years.

"We will see how we go, but the important thing is that we continue building and take advantage of this."

BNP candidates are challenging for 16 of the 19 wards on Harrogate Borough Council.

It marks a surge for the party, which, at the last elections, stood for just the Starbeck ward on the council, and was defeated.

And for the first time, the BNP is to contest seats in York and Richmondshire.

There are nine BNP members standing in York, with a further two hoping to gain seats in Richmondshire.

During the last General Election, a BNP candidate failed in an attempt to gain election for the Knaresborough and Harrogate seat.

Phil Willis, the Liberal-Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said: "I believe in democracy and these people have a right to stand.

"It does stand out as a challenge to all the political parties that there is something we are not doing.

"But I do think it's very disappointing in Harrogate, where the quality of living is high, that a party with such extreme views can come in.

"So, it is the job of the other political parties to ensure they don't get in or gain a foothold."

He added that the BNP was probably hoping to use any gains to fight for a seat in the European elections.

Weyman Bennet, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism, said: "It is a disgrace that the fascist BNP will be given hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers money, and free TV broadcasts, to spread their dangerous message of race hate and division."