Fears that the UK Independence Party could rob the Tories of seats proved unfounded on Thursday as the anti-European cause received a drubbing at the polls.

Despite a strong polling, especially in the south west, in the European elections which left the party with three MEPs, the party failed to make an impact in yesterday's election.

Around 390,000 people supported the party's 427 candidates, representing 1.5 per cent of all those who voted.

This figure makes the UKIP, formed in 1993, the fourth most supported party in this election, behind Labour, the Conservatives, the Lib Dems and the SNP - ahead of Plaid Cymru and the Green Party.

In Guilford, where the Conservatives lost to the Liberal Democrats by 538 votes the UKIP candidate, Sonya Porter, took 736 votes.

In Cheadle the anti-EU party took 599 votes, while the Tories lost to the Liberal Democrats by just 33 votes.

In these two constituencies at least, UKIP may have made an impact.