“WE can win seats in Great Yarmouth next year,” was the message leader of the UK Independence Party delivered when he visited the borough this week.

Nigel Farage spent the afternoon at Great Yarmouth racecourse supporting the charity, the Viking family support group, before meeting local business owners and members of the UKIP party in the evening.

For the first time in it’s history, UKIP fought for every seat in the Great Yarmouth elections on May 3. They scored the second-highest number of votes in four of the borough’s 13 wards.

He said: “We are about to make a big breakthrough I regard the county council elections next year as being a vital part of UKIP proving their worth. We are a lot more than a one trick pony.

“I think we have got a good chance of winning seats. Since 2012 we are taking a big percentage of Conservative voters.

“We are optimistic but realistic at the same time. I think we can win seats in Great Yarmouth next year. We can make serious headway in Great Yarmouth.”

He described the party’s local performance in the May elections as a “massive success” when they secured more than 3,000 votes out of 16,000.

While he was at the racecourse, he judged the best turned out horse in one of the races, and supported the Viking group, a charity which supports troops from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and their friends and families.

“It’s amazing what people like this do, it’s fantastic,” he said. “We are very proud of our armed forces and we are livid about the cuts that are being proposed.”

In the evening, he made a speech on the Eurozone crisis at the Pier Hotel in Gorleston where he met local UKIP members. He also spoke about the challenges faced by small businesses.

“Employment and health and safety regulations are farcical. They are being penalised,” he said.

“My message to people is to come and get involved in an exciting new party. There’s a buzz and it’s fun as well.

“We are happy for people to come here on work permits but why should our school and health services be open to those from Lithuania?

“It’s about wanting to put your own people first.”