UKIP's parliamentary candidate for Harwich tried to heat up the contest in neighbouring Clacton's election by offering his Conservative counterpart a bet on who would win.

Mark Hughes called on Bernard Jenkin to take a £10,000 bet for charity on social media site, Twitter.

He tweeted: "@bernardjenkin '#UKIP will not win any seats at GE, including @DouglasCarswell in #Clacton' really Bernard? £10,000 bet for charity?"

Mr Hughes said he decided to throw down the challenge after Mr Jenkin said "Ukip will not win any seats at this election, perhaps one or two," at a hustings event in Harwich.

Mr Hughes said: "I thought I would challenge him to a bet - it's a lot of money to a person like me, but if he's serious he should put his money where his mouth is."

Mr Hughes also suggested the money go to the RNLI or fishermen if the bet went ahead.

But Mr Jenkin has turned down the offer, saying he would not take part on principal.

"I don't bet on contests where I'm a participant, I don't think it's ethical."

Candidates for the Clacton parliamentary seat are: Giles Watling (Conservative), Douglas Carswell (Ukip), Chris Southall (Green), Tim Young (Labour), David Grace (Lid Dem).

Candidates for the Harwich and North Essex parliamentary seat are: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative), Mark Hughes (Ukip), Chris Flossman (Green), Edward Carlsson Browne (Labour), Dominic Graham (Lib Dem)