Far-right parties have made stunning gains in local elections in central Germany - with a small neo-Nazi group winning 17 per cent of the vote in one district.

The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) won an average of 13.2 per cent of the vote across the state of Hesse on Sunday - making it the third largest party in the region behind Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party.

Meanwhile in the small town of Leun, 50 miles north of Frankfurt, the neo-Nazi NPD party managed to win 17 per cent of the vote - making it the third largest party.

In Büdingen, which is home to Hesse’s largest refugee centre, the NPD took 14 per cent of the vote - up from two per cent in 2011.

The AfD's gains were particularly noticeable in Frankfurt - a global financial capital with a cosmopolitan population - where they won 10.3 per cent of the vote, coming in fourth place, Hessischer Rundfunk reports.

Previously the AfD had typically been most successful in the economically marginalised areas in the former East German states.

Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Show all 13 1 /13 Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Women protest against sexism outside Cologne Cathedral on 5 January after the assaults Oliver Berg/EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Women protest against sexism in Cologne following the rash of sex attacks on New Year's Eve Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police initially failed to mention the assaults in report the following morning EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police officers patrol in front of the main station of Cologne, Germany AP Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks German far-right supporters demonstrate at Cologne`s train station (Reuters) Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016. Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police used pepper spray to control supporters of Pegida, Hogesa (Hooligans against Salafists) and other right-wing populist groups as they protested against the New Year's Eve sex attacks on 9 January, 2016 in Cologne, Germany Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police use a water cannon during a protest march by supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016 Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police use pepper spray against supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida, in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016. Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Artist Mira Moiré protests naked in Cologne against the mass sex attacks on New Year's Eve AP Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks A demonstrator holds a sign in German that reads 'No violence against women' during a demonstration in the wake of the sexual assaults on New Year's Eve, outside the cathedeal in Cologne, Germany, 09 January 2016. EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Counter demonstrators hold up a sign reading "Against sexism, against racism" as they protest against a demonstration of the islamophobic movement PEGIDA at the train station in Cologne, Germany, on January 9, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Demonstration by a women’s group on Saturday (AP) AP

In the west of the country, it had usually struggled to win the five per cent of the vote required to be eligible for seats in the state parliament and the party's best result was 6.1 per cent in Hamburg in 2015.

The AfD was founded in 2103 as a single-issue, anti-Euro party but lurched to the right in 2015 following the onset of the refugee crisis and the ousting of its founder Professor Bernd Lucke, The Local reports.

A chart created by Statista for The Independent last month using data from the Bundestag shows growing support for far-right parties.

Participation in far right demonstration in Germany from 2005 (Statista)

A total of 307,056 people have taken part in far-right demonstrations over the past decade with around 60,000 taking part in one in 2015 alone.

Pegida, a far-right movement founded in Dresden in October 2014, is seeing a dramatic rise in support following the influx of asylum seekers.

German police said around 1,700 people attended a special Pegida rally in Cologne in January following sex attacks on women on New Year’s Eve which were blamed on refugees.

There has been a spate of arson attacks on refugee centres and homes in recent months.