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 ever seat in the North-East.

A total of 57 candidates from the far-right party are set to contest local council seats on June 10 - up on last year's figure of 54.

A further three BNP 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, Andrew Harris, 25, a logistics clerk of Eston, near Middlesbrough, and former Green Party election candidate Jenny Agnew, who lives in Darlington.

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

But critics of the party's policies have again urged voters to keep them 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 and 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 as initially feared by many.

Because of boundary changes, a number of the North-East's bigger metropolitan borough councils are again holding fresh elections.

In Newcastle seven BNP candidates will contest the 78 seats available and 17 candidates from the party will fight the 66 seats in Gateshead.

Seven BNP candidates in total have been nominated to stand in wards in North and South Tyneside where elections are also taking place.

And in Hartlepool the party will field a candidate for the first time -Geoffrey Baldwin who is standing in the Brus ward in the town.

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

A statement on its website describes next month's elections as representing 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 candidate is standing in North Yorkshire for Harrogate Borough Council.