The UK Independence Party gained the most seats in the south west following the European elections last Thursday.

It recorded its best ever results in the region, picking up two seats, one taken from Conservative MEP Alexander Stockton.

The party received 22.6 per cent of the vote, giving it two of the seven seats won by Roger Knapman and Graham Booth.

Although the Conservatives received the most votes, their number of MEPs fell from four to three. Giles Chichester, Caroline Jackson and Neil Parish managed to keep hold of their seats.

Labour MEP Glyn Ford and the Liberal Democrat Graham Watson each have a seat in the south west region. The Liberal Democrats saw their vote rise by two per cent but Labour's vote fell to under 15 per cent, pushing it into fourth place.

More than 1.4m people voted in the southwest and turnout was 37.6 per cent.

UKIP's Graham Booth said: "People have spoken. They have finally got the message. They are very mad over the way they have been deceived with the EU for 30 years.

"We have offered them a way out, for Britain to leave the EU and run its own affairs and they have voted for us in the thousands."

Although the British National Party did not win any seats in the country their number of votes increased fourfold. Like UKIP they are an anti-European Union party. Robert Baggs, BNP candidate for the region said: "UKIP stole our thunder. If it were not for them we would have done a lot better than we did. They took everyone a little bit by surprise.

"However, we got 40,000 votes in the southwest and we got 10,000 last time. We are definitely becoming more popular."

Mr Baggs, of Calne, said the party was now focussing on the general election where they believed UKIP would not be such a threat because they based their policies too much on getting out of Europe.

But he also pointed out that the European election had been a success for the minor parties.

"It sends a strong message to the main parties. People are just not happy with what is going on in Europe."

Despite his party losing a seat in the region, MP for North Wiltshire James Gray said the results had been very satisfactory.

"In North Wiltshire we secured around 14,000 votes and 40 per cent voted for the Conservative party. If that was repeated at the general election we would return to parliament with a huge majority.

"It is disappointing to go from four to three seats in the south west as a whole but we are still by far the largest party in Europe."

A tired but ecstatic Alan Wood, regional agent for the UK Independence Party, said he was delighted with the result of last week's election. He said: "Thanks to everyone in Kennet who voted for the UKIP to leave the European Union. People are now beginning to realise the dangers inherent in continued British membership of the European Union and a European constitution.

"We want to assure them we will be there for them next time as well."

Michael Ancram, MP for Devizes, and deputy leader of the Conservative Party, said: "The European Election both locally and nationally sent a strong message to Tony Blair as he sets off to Brussels to sign up to the wretched European Constitution this week. Over five per cent voted for parties which oppose the Constitution. People are suspicious and concerned at the direction Europe is taking, and that concern must be recognised by the Government. Tony Blair should refuse to sign up to this Constitution which will take us further down the road to a single European state."

The turnout last Thursday in Kennet was 38.2 per cent, an increase on the last Euro elections when only 29 per cent of voters bothered to turn out.

The Conservative Party polled highest with 8,394 votes, with the UKIP second with 5,076. Liberal Democrats gained 3,140, the Labour Party 2,413, the Green Party 1,464, the Countryside Party 737, the British National Party 560 and Respect the Unity Coalition (George Galloway) 95.