The Brexit Party will only contest one Kent seat at the election in a major climbdown by leader Nigel Farage.

He said there was a risk that in standing in every seat in the country it could lead to a hung Parliament and the prospect of a second referendum.

It means the party will field only one candidate in the county - the Labour-held seat of Canterbury, where Owen Prew is candidate.

In a speech, Mr Farage said he had decided to stand down candidates selected for 317 seats.

Instead, the party would concentrate its efforts on seats held by the Labour party. And it will also challenge other remainer parties.

"We will concentrate our efforts into every seat held by Labour and the rest of the remainer parties," Mr Farage told a rally in Hartlepool.

The decision did not go down well with one candidate in Kent. Ed Hall, who was to stand in Dover and Deal, said: "It makes strategic sense but that does not make it any less disappointing for passionate supporters in Dover and Deal that a clean-break Brexit option won’t now be on the ballot paper."

"This is a seat where Ukip took more than 10,000 votes in 2015 so this is a very strong 'leave' area."

He said it was all the more important that people knew where the newly-installed Conservative candidate Natalie Elphicke stood on the issue.

“What people want to know is where she stands on the EU. How does she feel about possibly extending beyond 2020?

"How did she vote in 2015? Did she campaign to stay or leave? She needs to tell us where she stands on Brexit."

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