A teenage election candidate bragged about tasteless Princess Diana jokes in a string of controversial comments on his Facebook page.

McDonald’s worker Jeremy Bellamy, 19, of Old Dover Road, Canterbury, also used the online site to:

· Tell of his desire to slap a toddler.

· Label an estate on his ward the “valley of the shadow of death”.

· Brand the Archbishop of Canterbury “mental”.

· Talk of putting kebabs through rivals’ letterboxes.

Details of the student’s posts emerged this week in the run-up to today’s elections.

The Tory – in his second year of a politics degree at Canterbury Christ Church University – is hoping to win over the people of the city's Barton Ward.

But he did himself no favours when describing the ward’s Spring Lane estate as the “valley of the shadow of death”.

In another status he commented: “Jeremy Bellamy has some fantastic Princess Diana jokes lined up for this presentation on landmines.”

He even told of wanting to slap a four-year-old boy who had insulted him while he campaigned.

His status read: “I’ve never wanted to slap a toddler so much in my life, but resisted the urge.”

In another comment he hit out at the Archbishop of Canterbury’s views on the legal system, going on to describe him as “just mental”.

A further post read: “Jeremy Bellamy is considering getting some illicit illegal fireworks for his Royal Wedding party.”

Other comments on his page included tales of public drunkenness and his thoughts on “kebabing” the letterboxes of rival candidates.

When quizzed about the comments, Mr Bellamy admitted he had been a “bit naïve”.

He said: “I chose who my friends were and who could see the comments and somebody has obviously chosen to exploit that for political gain.

“I hope people will have the sense to see my remarks weren’t meant to insult anyone or anything of that nature.”

For a full report see this week’s Kentish Gazette.