Almost one in ten councils holding elections next week will have no Liberal Democrat candidates on their ballot papers, new figures show.

Analysis by the Press Association has also found that Ukip is fielding more candidates than the Lib Dems in more than a quarter of the contests.

In areas ranging from Salford in north-west England to Thurrock in the south-east, no Lib Dems are standing.

Across England as a whole, the Lib Dems have a total of 1,758 candidates compared with Ukip's 1,388.

But in 34 of the 124 areas holding elections next week, Ukip candidates outnumber those for the Lib Dems.

A Lib Dem spokesman said: 'Liberal Democrats are immersed in our communities and will stand up for them on the issues that affect their day to day lives.

'Our membership has grown by over 20,000 since the general election and we will be fighting a strong campaign in May.'