THE British National Party (BNP) is celebrating a surprise win at a district council by-election.

Paul Golding won the Swanley St Mary’s ward in Sevenoaks district by 76 votes on Thursday.

It is the first time the BNP has stood in the Sevenoaks District, managing to swipe a safe Labour seat in the Tory-controlled district.

Councillor Golding, aged 27, described it as an historic day for the BNP.

He said: “We organised a very professional and pro-active campaign knocking on every door in Swanley.

“Earlier on in the campaign we didn’t know what to expect but we found that we had huge support in the ward.

“It has been a Labour stronghold for 40 years but I think people were becoming fed-up and were looking for a change.”

Cllr Golding won with 408 votes, with Labour candidate Michael Hogg receiving 332 votes and Conservative candidate Tony Searles 247 votes.

Turnout for the election was 31.3 per cent.

The election came about following the resignation of Labour councillor Lesley Dyball last November.

Cllr Golding, who joined the party in 1999 at the age of 17, as director of publicity, said: “Native British people are sick of being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.

“They are bottom of the list for council houses after asylum seekers and foreigners.

“I will do my best to sort out the problems.”

Councillor Ian Rashbrook, Swanley Town Council leader and agent for the Labour candidate in the by-election, said: “It is a very disappointing result.

“Now we will be working hard to ensure that the BNP do not make any further gains in Swanley or the Sevenoaks district.

“There are lots of reasons why people turned to the BNP, people are very frustrated at the moment and any by-election will be difficult for the Labour Party to win.”

Sevenoaks District Council leader Councillor Peter Fleming said: “It had been Labour’s safest seat in Kent for many years, so this is a terrible blow for Labour.

“I think voters are turning to the BNP because they are scared at the moment, it is an indication of how people feel on a national scale about the Labour Party.”