Stoke Labour candidate sorry for Loose Women tweets

Gareth Snell, pictured with Jeremy Corbyn, has said he regrets sending the tweets

The Labour candidate in the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election has apologised for posting a series of abusive tweets about women.

Gareth Snell described panellists on ITV's Loose Women as "squabbling sour-faced ladies", the Guido Fawkes website reported.

He also made remarks about Janet Street-Porter and a woman on BBC's The Apprentice.

In a statement, Mr Snell said he regrets sending the tweets.

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UKIP - whose leader Paul Nuttall is expected to mount a strong challenge in the contest - said the comments were "distasteful" and showed a lack of maturity.

Mr Snell said: "I regret these tweets. They were from years ago when I was tweeting along with TV programmes but nevertheless, I shouldn't have tweeted those comments and I apologise for the offence they have caused."

The by-election was called after Tristram Hunt resigned as an MP in January.

See the full list of candidates standing in the Stoke Central by-election.

Meanwhile, Mr Nuttall has described accusations he lied about being a survivor of the Hillsborough disaster as "an absolute disgrace".

At the age of 12, Mr Nuttall was in the Leppings Lane end for the Liverpool v Nottingham Forest FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium in 1989, which turned into a disaster claiming the lives of 96 people.

A newspaper had questioned whether he could prove it to be true.

Mr Nuttall said: "I've never been so personally insulted in my life."