A Tory councillor has received cross-party support after she alleged she was bullied.

Cllr Gloria Opara claims council leader Cllr Alan Jarrett was overly aggressive towards her.

She is calling for him to stand down immediately and says she's made a formal complaint to the Tory Party.

The matter was sparked when she was prevented from standing in her Princes Park ward at next year's council election.

During a selection interview, she claims Cllr Jarrett aggressively quizzed her over her position on Medway's long-delayed Local Plan.

Cllr Opara, who was first elected in 2015 and had the support of local members, says she's had lots of feedback in the past week.

She said: "The support has been overwhelming, especially from the Conservatives.

"I knew they were going to do something about it, and they are doing something about it."

The businesswoman, who runs a local cyber security firm, has submitted a complaint to Medway Conservative Group. It has declined to comment on the matter at the present time.

Cllr Jarrett, who represents Lordswood and Capstone, previously said he would be stepping down as leader and as a councillor at next year's elections in May.

During last week's full council meeting, several Labour councillors called on him to go now.

Group leader Cllr Vince Maple called the accusations "unacceptable in a democracy" while his deputy, Cllr Teresa Murray called on the top Tory to apologise to Cllr Opara.

However, cabinet members came out in support of the council leader with Cllr Jane Chitty (Con) saying while the pair had disagreements in the past, she had never "translated that as bullying".

The portfolio holder for planning, economic growth and regulation said: "I give my support to Cllr Jarrett and I will continue to do so because he is a honourable man and should actually have the right to defend himself against allegations."

He declined to comment on Cllr Opara's allegations when asked by the Messenger last week, saying it was a private meeting.

Meanwhile, other Tory members have spoken out.

Cllr Habib Tejan said it had been "disappointing" to hear about the allegations.

He added: "We were elected together and I know she's been a brilliant councillor.

"In my experience, I know when victims bring such allegations if it is not dealt with properly and if there's any cover ups, it can be devastating for the victim.

"I believe the right thing will be done and this matter will be investigated thoroughly to ensure that justice is served and the truth comes to light."

Cllr Rupert Turpin, who lost his cabinet seat last year after voicing opposition to the draft Medway Local Plan, said: "There's a lot of support for Gloria on the backbenches and a lot of dissatisfaction with the way this has been handled. This has to be fully investigated."

Cllr Stuart Tranter said: "I would hope any investigation is properly and thoroughly carried out.

"I was not present at this meeting so I cannot comment on what happened on that occasion, but I think what does matter is if bullying has occurred, that cannot be tolerated at any level within a group or party.

"I think it's only appropriate that we allow the investigation to take its course."