UKIP's only council candidate in Wirral has been urged to step aside after a series of tweets comparing migrants to terrorists were unearthed.

Paula Walters, who is standing for the party in the New Brighton ward at next month's local elections, has been urged by Labour to withdraw from the vote because of the posts written by an account under her name.

They include statements about Muslims and posts comparing immigrants to terrorists, appearing to respond to events in the lead up to the Brexit vote – and addressing former Prime Minister David Cameron.

The tweets in question were all written between June 2015 and January 2016 but on Friday were described as "truly shocking" and "outrageous".

Cllr Christine Spriggs, who currently holds the New Brighton seat, said Ms Walters' comments were "not befitting of a person seeking public office".

Cllr Spriggs added: "Her hate-filled posts comparing immigration to terrorism are truly shocking and I'm sure residents across New Brighton will be rightly outraged.

"This kind of rhetoric – which sows division – is dangerous and has no place in our society."

She added: "I'm proud to represent a diverse and multicultural ward and I know residents will reject these tweets.

"I'm calling on Paula to not only publicly apologise for her abusive outbursts, but to stand aside in the local election race and allow New Brighton to elect an individual who is going to best represent their decent values."

It comes after Ms Walters last month distanced UKIP from a Twitter account claiming to represent the party’s Liverpool branch, which was accused of posting racist, homophobic and abusive tweets.

The Liverpool UKIP Branch account had sent a stream of bizarre and offensive messages, in one post describing "putting the boot up the backside" of beggars in Liverpool.

Another saw the account tell a city councillor to "get promoting to the Asians", also describing the Picton area of Liverpool as a "sh**thole".

In March, Ms Walters, who is chair of UKIP Wirral and a member of the party’s National Executive Committee, said the Liverpool account was not "authorised", and that she had requested Twitter take it down.

Now she is being urged by the Labour party to stand down for tweets sent from her own account.

Responding, Ms Walters said she was rather 'taken aback' that her tweets could appear to some to be racist and that an apology was now being asked for.

She said: "On a National level, any statement that I may make is my own and may or may not be UKIP, in the main I campaign about local issues that affect families throughout Wirral, however I stand as a candidate for New Brighton because I actually live here and understand the issues and concerns in this area.

"I was instrumental in collecting signatures to prevent our council imposing the proposed parking charges on fifty major roads in Wirral.

"I organised a protest outside the Town Hall to ensure that local people were made aware of these plans and could collectively demonstrate their disapproval.

"I actively campaign against tunnel tolls because we were told that the tunnels would be free when the loan is paid off."

She said she stood by comments that halal is 'barbaric' and said that while she sympathises with people fleeing war and persecutions, she would ask 'is it fair that they are given priority over those that apply through the proper and legitimate channels?'

On the comparison between migrants and terrorists, Ms Walters said she thought it was 'sensible to expect that every would be British Citizen is scrupulously vetted to ensure the safety of the rest of us' because 'we are told by terrorists themselves that they will infiltrate Europe posing as refugees.' 

In an earlier online verison of this story the headline stated Wirral UKIP candidate Paula Walters "stands down".

This was incorrect and we aoplogise to Ms Walters for our error.