(BBC) UKIP leader Nigel Farage has hailed gains in council elections across England as a "game changer".
UKIP won over 140 seats and averaged 25% of the vote in the wards where it was standing.
The Conservatives lost control of 10 councils, but retained 18, while Labour gained two councils and boosted its councillors by nearly 300.
David Cameron said he would "work really hard to win back" supporters who had decided to vote for UKIP.
Contests took place in 27 English county councils and seven unitary authorities, as well as in Anglesey. About 2,300 council seats were up for grabs in England, in a major mid-term test for the coalition government.
Four party politics
The BBC's projected national share of the vote put Labour in the lead with 29% of the vote and the Conservatives in second place with 25%, UKIP in third place with 23% of votes and the Lib Dems fourth with 14%.
An estimate from a BBC sample of key wards suggests that average turnout was 31%, down 10 points from the last local elections in 2009.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the vote shares confirmed four party politics were at play in these elections, but it was still unclear if this would carry through to a general election.
Responding to the success of UKIP, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "We need to show respect for people who have taken the choice to support this party and we are going to work really hard to win them back."
The Tories were defending thousands of seats last fought in 2009 - when they were in opposition and when Labour had its worst night in local election history.
They retained control of traditional council strongholds like Wiltshire, Shropshire, West Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Dorset, Hampshire and Hertfordshire, as well as Somerset and Devon.
But they lost their majorities on 10 of their councils, which moved to no overall control, as both Labour and UKIP made gains.
Nearly 10,000 candidates were battling for seats in English county councils and unitary authorities - "top-tier" authorities in charge of schools, roads, refuse collection and fire and rescue among other services.
Labour made progress in the Midlands, taking control of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire county councils, both of which it lost in 2009.
It also made double digit gains in Staffordshire, Cumbria, Warwickshire, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.
UKIP surge
The most eye-catching performance was from UKIP, which is riding high in the opinion polls and fielded 1,700 candidates, three times the number that stood in 2009, when the party won just seven council seats.
The party became the official opposition in Kent, where it won 17 councillors, Lincolnshire, where it won 16 councillors and Norfolk, where it won 15 councillors.
It took seats in councils like Essex and Hampshire, where it previously had no councillors, but failed to pick up any seats in a number of councils including Hertfordshire, Warwickshire, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and Derbyshire.
The party, which campaigns for the UK to leave the European Union, polled 11 points higher, on average, than in wards where it stood in 2009.
UKIP's Nigel Farage told the BBC the party had taken its "first substantial step towards a party that can credibly win seats at Westminster".
The most eye-catching performance was from UKIP, which is riding high in the opinion polls and fielded 1,700 candidates, three times the number that stood in 2009, when the party won just seven council seats.
The party became the official opposition in Kent, where it won 17 councillors, Lincolnshire, where it won 16 councillors and Norfolk, where it won 15 councillors.
It took seats in councils like Essex and Hampshire, where it previously had no councillors, but failed to pick up any seats in a number of councils including Hertfordshire, Warwickshire, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and Derbyshire.
UKIP's Nigel Farage told the BBC the party had taken its "first substantial step towards a party that can credibly win seats at Westminster".
'Major lesson'
"It's a fascinating day for British politics. Something has changed here.
"I know that everyone would like to say that it's just a little short-term, stamp your feet protest - it isn't. There's something really fundamental that has happened here.
"It's a fascinating day for British politics. Something has changed here.
"I know that everyone would like to say that it's just a little short-term, stamp your feet protest - it isn't. There's something really fundamental that has happened here.
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