THE British National Party will field a record number of candidates in next month's local and European elections as it bids to win its first seat in the North-East.

A total of 57 candidates from the far-right party are due to contest local council seats on June 10 - three more than last year.

The extra candidates are in the running for each of the three MEP (Member of European Parliament) seats in the North-East, nominations for which closed on Tuesday.

They are plastic surgeon Alan Patterson, 49, who runs cosmetic clinics in Newcastle and Consett, County Durham, Andrew Harris, 25, a logistics clerk, of Eston, near Middlesbrough, and former Green Party candidate Jenny Agnew, of Darlington.

The BNP hopes to cash in on what it perceives as increasing disillusionment with the three main political parties, in particular disquiet over Iraq, asylum and spiralling council tax.

But critics of the party's policies have again urged voters to keep it out.

North-East Conservative MEP Martin Callanan said: "In a free and democratic society such as ours, it is right that nominations are open for anybody to seek election.

"However, I hope that the voters of the North-East will send a clear message to the BNP that their brand of politics is not welcome in our region."

The BNP will again target Sunderland as its main battle-ground in the region. It has 25 candidates contesting local council seats in the city - one in each ward.

Last year, local council elections in Sunderland resulted in six second place finishes for the party, although it failed to win a seat.

Because of boundary changes, a number of the North-East's bigger metropolitan borough councils are holding fresh elections. In Newcastle, seven BNP candidates will contest the 78 seats available and 17 will fight the 66 seats in Gateshead.

Seven BNP candidates have been nominated to stand in elections for wards in North and South Tyneside.

In Hartlepool, the party fields a candidate for the first time - Geoffrey Baldwin, who is standing in the Brus ward.

The BNP has held a series of recent meetings in the North-East at locations including Redcar, east Cleveland and Newcastle, which it says have been well attended.

A statement on its website describes the elections as an "unprecedented opportunity" for the party.

North-East organiser Kevin Scott said it hoped to win a protest vote from some Labour voters.

* Six BNP candidates are contesting the MEP slots for Yorkshire and the Humber, while one is standing in North Yorkshire for Harrogate Borough Council. John Brayshaw, of Easingwold, North Yorkshire, is one of the six BNP candidates for the Yorkshire and the Humber MEP seats.