A UKIP candidate has defended posting jokes and images described as “crude and offensive” on his Facebook page — saying they are just banter.

The row comes as a war of words broke out in Bolton South East after Labour candidate Yasmin Qureshi labelled UKIP as racist.

Jeff Armstrong, who is standing for UKIP, has been criticised for posting a number of "tasteless jokes" on Facebook.

One joke compares an “ugly, fat woman” to a farm animal — while another focuses on a “gorgeous woman” who is breastfeeding a child.

There are also a number of images and posts which Mr Armstrong said he did not create — but did share — that have been deemed as “crude and offensive”.

A voter from Farnworth, who asked not to be named, said he spotted the various posts on Mr Armstrong’s Facebook page and was horrified.

He said: “I don’t think he is fit to be a responsible member of parliament if he is sharing lewd and offensive images and jokes like this."

Mr Armstrong has responded to the criticism by arguing that the jokes and images posted were “banter” and examples of “free speech”.

He said: “We live in a country where we have free speech and it seems as if just one person has a problem with it.

"This is just a bit of banter, it is as simple as that — some of them are not even my jokes but simply things that I have shared."

He added: “Every joke that anyone tells anywhere will offend someone and I think this person needs to get over it and get a life — if people have been offended by it then tough luck.”

Mr Armstrong pointed out that the posts were made on a personal Facebook account and some of them dated back as far as two years ago.

Ms Qureshi, who is hoping to be re-elected into the seat she won back in 2010, gave an interview on local community radio station Britasianbuzz, where she said UKIP was "a racist party".

The comments were strongly rejected by Mr Armstrong .

Ms Qureshi said: "UKIP is a party whose leader says that he feels uncomfortable hearing foreign languages or that people would be concerned if immigrants moved in next-door, so you tell me, what is that if it is not racist?”

Mr Armstrong said: “She is obviously very worried about us because she deliberately doesn’t speak about the other parties — there is a reason she is picking on UKIP and that is because we are the only party that can beat Labour in Bolton South East.”

Mr Armstrong is standing for election in Bolton South East alongside Yasmin Qureshi (Labour) Mudasir Dean (Conservatives) Alan Johnson (Greens) and Darren Reynolds (Liberal Democrats).