A UKIP councillor has called for calm as infighting threatens to tear the party apart.

In the wake of the resignation of MEP Steven Woolfe after his alleged altercation in Strasbourg with colleague Mike Hookem which left him injured, Basildon Ukip leader Linda Allport-Hodge has implored Mr Woolfe to reconsider his decision.

Tweeting on Monday, she said: “I have endured shedloads of grief as #UKIP Leader at Basildon. I’m still standing & never gave up. Please reconsider, we need you.

The Basildon councillor for Langdon Hills had previously backed Mr Woolfe to be next leader.

He became the Ukip leadership frontrunner after Diane James – who succeeded Nigel Farage – lasted just 18 days in the job.

Mr Woolfe quit the party, saying it had become ungovernable and was in “a death spiral” without Mr Farage.

Mrs Allport -Hodge said many members are branded as racist. She said: “I have endured shedloads as Ukip leader in Basildon and I’m still standing. More than 17 million people voted to leave the EU and they are not all racist. They have legitimate concerns.

“You need to be of a certain mettle to be a Ukip candidate I was appealing to Steven because we’ve all been suffering.

“We all find it difficult but we need to stand our ground because we need to make sure the Tories do deliver on Brexit.”

Southend Ukip group leader Floyd Waterworth also said he believes the party needs Mr Farage in order to survive. Mr Farage remains the party’s figurehead until a new leader is chosen.

He said: “Nigel as leader dedicated his life to Ukip. He was getting grief from some people and he now wants to step back and make time for himself.

“He’ll be at the helm at least until Christmas or the New Year. It would be ideal if he carried on for quite some time, but 20 years is a good innings.”

Unlike Ms Allport-Hodge, Mr Waterworth said he had no strong feelings about Mr Woolfe’s resignation.

He said: “It’s difficult for me to say much about it as I don’t know the circumstances. I’m indifferent to it really.

“We’ve had too many people leave. We’re better off with Nigel.

“There are difficult issues to deal with in the wake of Brexit.

“What Ukip is doing is fighting its way up an almost sheer mountain face.

“We are talking about a whole sea change and standing on our own two feet and not being ruled by the EU.”

Declared candidates for the leadership of the party include Raheem Kassam, Mr Farage’s former chief of staff, Bill Etheridge, a Midlands MEP, and Peter Whittle, a London assembly member.