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Thursday, November 20, 2008, 08:42
Teachers, nurses, serving soldiers and even a "witch" are among the members of the British National Party living across the whole of the west.
A leak of the full membership list of the BNP shows that the far-right party has support from more than 675 people across the region.
Members exist in almost every town of every county with more than a dozen teenagers named as supporters on the list, the youngest being a 14-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy from Wiltshire.
The document, which was published on an internet blog, reveals the majority of the party's support is further north in places such as West Yorkshire. It also reveals a policeman, radio DJ and a handful of vicars as registered members.
The highest number of supporters in the west can be found in Wiltshire where there are more than 150 members.
Of the hundreds of members listed in the region, almost half were marked down as "activists".
These include a student at the University of Bath and an ex-serviceman in the city.
The document containing detailed information of the group's 12,000 plus supporters was made public this week – believed to have been leaked by a former member of staff.
Unsurprisingly, the party has more than 20 members in Corsham, where the BNP's Michael Simpkins sits on the town council.
Several west members are listed as having made financial donations to the party, the largest being a gift of £100 from a man in Bristol.
A handful of those listed on the list had been marked off as having resigned from the party.
In a statement on the party's website, BNP leader Nick Griffin said the list was just over a year old and claimed some members had since left or deliberately been added.
Earlier this year, the party said it obtained an injunction at the High Court in Manchester banning any publication of the list.
Mr Griffin added: "Having spent a lot of money to secure our members' privacy, we are disappointed that it's been breached."
But he also said the leak would be "water off a duck's back to the stout hearts of the British National Party."
