Jailed protester Jonathan Elliott went on hunger strike in prison - but had to stop after four days because it made him ill.

The jobless 47-year-old, from Whitstable, is behind bars after his appeal against a magistrates' court curfew order backfired when a crown court judge jailed him for six weeks.

On his first day in prison, Elliott, of Sydney Road, went on hunger strike - but stopped after four days because he began to suffer fits.

Before his appeal, Elliott was serving a three-month curfew for putting stink bombs in a ballot box during the Kent County Council election at the start of May.

He also appeared in court for breaching the peace after lunging at a car carrying Prince Charles, who was on his way to the inauguration of the Archbishop of Canterbury in March.

Chris Stone, a Whitstable Gazette columnist, has visited Elliott at HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey.

He said: "Jon went on hunger strike from Wednesday till Sunday, but it caused him to start fitting, so he had to eat.

"He says he was shaken when the judge ordered him to be taken to prison, but has got used to it now. He was in the health block at first, but has been moved to block 6.

"The security is surprisingly strict, with a large number of locked doors, quarantine areas and pat downs before you get into the visiting hall, which echoes like a school dining hall and is full of kids and snogging couples.

“The prisoners all have to wear day-glo orange vests, like bibs."

Mr Stone added that Elliott watches the sun set from his cell each night.

Elliott disrupted the KCC election count on May 2, claiming he wanted to "cause a stink about democracy".

Magistrates in Canterbury banned him from leaving his home in the evening and ordered him to pay court costs and compensation to the election counter, who discovered the two vials of liquid in the ballot box.

After the sentence, he complained the punishment was unduly harsh and appealed against it at Canterbury Crown Court.

Judge Nigel Van Der Bijl revoked the original sentence and jailed him for six weeks due to the severity of his crimes.

Elliott is likely to be released later this month after serving half his sentence.