UKIP: We have not given up the fight in the Black Country and Staffordshire

The party's election co-ordinator Chris Bruni-Lowe, who was the mastermind behind last year's by-election wins, is organising campaigns in the ten targets, including Labour marginal Dudley North.

Candidates are being assisted with campaign literature, mailshots and billboards leading to reports others were being left to their own devices.

But the party's candidate in Cannock Chase, Grahame Wiggin, said this was not true.

UKIP did well in the council elections last year.

Mr Wiggin said: "We had the deputy leader Paul Nuttall here to support me this week. That's not being left to my own devices.

"Cannock Chase is absolutely a target seat."

Bill Etheridge, UKIP's candidate in Dudley North, said: "While I'm delighted to be considered in one of the top ten seats, I think the assessment is a little pessimistic.

"If anything this is just going to spur candidates on to win even more.

"I think people will be surprised by just how well we will do."

Conservative candidate for Walsall North, Douglas Hansen Luke, is trying to unseat Labour's David Winnick.

But he also faces a challenge from UKIP's Liz Hazell.

The Tory candidate said: "More than 50 per cent of people in Walsall want a referendum on our membership of the European Union.

"UKIP splitting the vote makes it more likely that a party that does not support a referendum will get in."

Last week UKIP leader Nigel Farage told the Express & Star UKIP would win key seats in the Black Country and laughed off calls by David Cameron for former Tory voters to 'come home'.

"Last year we were at 14.5 per cent in the opinion polls, he said.

"We are now at 14.6 per cent. We are where we were after we won the European elections."

Some opinion polls this week have put UKIP on as low as seven per cent. Others suggest anything from 13 per cent to 15 per cent will back UKIP.