Cllr Stephanie Todd announced her defection from the Tories at a press conference in Scarborough today and was joined by two independent councillors - Cllr Sam Cross and Cllr John Jay-Hanmer - who are also switching their allegiance to UKIP.
Cllr Todd sits on Richmondshire District Council and Cllr Cross and Cllr Jay-Hanmer sit on Scarborough Borough Council.
This brings the total number of councillors who have defected to UKIP this year to 18 - 13 Tories (an average of one a week), 1 Lib Dem, 3 independents and one local party.