UKIP has secured three north west MEPs as both the Liberal Democrats and BNP were wiped out in the European elections.

Labour also took three seats in the region, with the Conservatives in third place with two MEPs.

The results for the European polls were announced in the early hours of Monday morning following the count in Manchester on Sunday night.

Euro-sceptic party UKIP secured 481,932 votes across the region, up 12% from last time.

Deputy UKIP leader, Paul Nuttall, will now be joined by Louise Bours and Steven Marcus Woolfe.

The biggest shock was that of BNP leader Nick Griffin, who lost his seat in the European Parliament after his party got just 1.8% of the vote.

The Lib Dem vote also collapsed in the region and saw them pushed into fifth place by the Greens, with neither party managing to get enough votes to earn a seat.

The Lib Dems also lost long-standing MEP Chris Davies, who had represented the region since 1999.

Labour received 594,063 votes in the elections, up 13% from 2009. They were just 1% short of securing a fourth MEP.