UKIP party leader Nigel Farage has dropped a further hint that he plans to contest the Kent seat of Thanet South at the general election.

Mr Farage told the Andrew Marr show that it was a "distinct possibility" that he would challenge for the seat he stood for in 2005.

The party is expected to target a string of seats in Kent where it believes it has the best chance of making a parliamentary breakthrough.

Asked by Andrew Marr about a report suggesting that he could take on Nick Clegg in his Sheffield constituency, Mr Farage dismissed it, saying that while "anything was possible" that would not happen.

Pressed on where he did intend to stand, he said: "I am going to stand in the south east of England because that is where I am from. One of the things voters don't like about the big parties is when candidates are parachuted in all over the country."

Asked if that meant Thanet South, he said: "That is a distinct possibility...but that is as far as I am prepared to go."

Mr Farage is expected to make some knd of announcement about his intentions this summer.

The party has a solid base of support in Thanet, having won seven of the eight county council seats at the the election last May.

The Conservatives have just begun the search for a replacement candidate after Laura Sandys said she had decided to step down for personal reasons.

Mr Farage stood and lost in Thanet South in 2005, since when there has been surge in the fortunes of UKIP.

Ms Sandys won the seat by a majority of more than 7,000 from then Labour MP Stephen Ladyman, who had represented the constituency since 1997.