Environment minister Michael Meacher has called for a show of strength in next month's local elections to prevent the BNP from making electoral gains.

The British National Party announced it intends to field a total of 18 candidates in Oldham and Burnley which were hit by race riots last summer.

A total of 13 BNP candidates will stand in Burnley and five in Oldham in next month's local council polls.

Meacher issued a statement on what was an expected move with the aim of avoiding a repeat of the general election when he stood against BNP chairman Nick Griffin who polled 11.3 per cent.

Meacher, who is the MP for Oldham, said the BNP's move would only add to divisions in an already fragmented community.

"As the MP for Oldham West and Royton, I have been aware of where the BNP's politics of hatred can lead to. The BNP seeks to divide Oldham. In order to move our town forward, people of Oldham must unite and vote against the BNP. The BNP would bring violence and discord to the town and it needs to know that we want no truck here with the politics of hatred and ethnic division," he said.

A community group, set up after a damning report by the Commission for Racial Equality claimed segregation was widespread, also condemned the move.

Mohammed Azam, co-ordinator of the Coalition Against Racism, said: "We must ensure the BNP are not allowed to win council seats by lying about their real policies and intent. All mainstream opinion is united to ensure that the BNP and other fascist organisations are not allowed to further stir up divisions and violence. We do not want either Oldham or Burnley to be the first town in the new century to elect a fascist neo-Nazi councillor.''

The party hit back claiming it was exercising a democratic right and that the candidates were neither fascist nor Nazis.

"The Coalition Against Racism is not representative of general public opinion, they are the fascists because they deny freedom of speech to people like us," said BNP spokesman Phil Edwards.