Ukip has parted ways with its first county councillor Adrian Crowther who could be on the brink of rejoining the Conservatives.

Cllr Crowther joined Ukip in 2013 saying he was doing so because he wanted an earlier referendum on the EU than the Conservatives had indicated.

He is currently the KCC member for Sheppey and a borough councillor for Minster Cliffs. Ukip sources say he could rejoin the Conservatives.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the party’s Swale branch said it had been embarrassed by Mr Crowther’s “constant” decisions to vote against Ukip policies:

“Over the past few months there has been an increasing concern within the local branch about Councillor Adrian Crowther.

“We hope that Adrian will find a happier home back with the Conservatives who can now spend the next few weeks removing all their nasty comments and digs at him on social media" - Ukip's Swale branch

"His voting record on both KCC and at Swale Borough Council have repeatedly been at odds with the rest of the party, and recently his votes in favour of windfarms and supporting unsustainable housing plans have caused serious upset within the local branch.”

It went on: “Swale Ukip has a firm policy to oppose the Tory housing plans for this borough, and it was embarrassing to have a local councillor repeatedly letting both local voters and the party down in this way.

"Combined with the lack of support for Ukip initiatives at Kent County Council and his constant voting with the Conservative administration, it was far from certain that we were going to nominate him to stand for us in the Swale Borough Elections this May.”

It ended: “We hope that Adrian will find a happier home back with the Conservatives who can now spend the next few weeks removing all their nasty comments and digs at him on social media.

"We wonder if Gordon Henderson MP will call for Adrian to put his county seat before the electorate in May in the same way that he did when Adrian defected to Ukip just before the KCC elections in 2013.”

A well-known Sheppey figure, Cllr Crowther was not re-selected by the Conservative party to contest his county council division later this year.

A former teacher, he was born near Blackburn, in Lancashire and moved to Kent in 1993. He was elected to Swale council in 2000.

Mr Crowther was not available to comment.