A BNP election candidate living in Macclesfield is at the centre of a row after neo-Nazi symbols appeared on his Facebook page.

Colin Marsh, who is standing in Weaver Vale in Chester, is accused of posting fascist insignia for Combat 18 and the SS on the social networking site.

Mr Marsh’s networking page, which described his home town as Macclesfield, has since been shut down.

BNP leader Nick Griffin last Friday threatened to ‘throw out’ Mr Marsh over the online symbols in an interview with the BBC.

But yesterday (Tuesday), a BNP spokesman said the page had been ‘hacked into’ and that Mr Marsh was not responsible and would not be standing down.

Maurice Cousins, from anti-fascist campaigners ‘Nothing British About The BNP’, said the photos had been there for 10 months.

"I just don’t think it is possible to hack into Facebook like that," he said. "The account was fully up and working with information only he would know. I think this discredits their patriotic credentials. It severely dents it when a candidate is flashing Combat 18 and SS insignia on his site."

But Mr Marsh is standing by the hacking claims.

He said: "It’s too late to back down so I would have to sit down anyway. It’s shocking, I’ve never seen anything like that before. It definitely wasn’t me. Somebody has gone into Facebook and done it. It’s totally ridiculous and all made up. The BNP have looked into it and they are quite satisfied that it wasn’t me. I ended up going into hospital over the weekend because of this. I suffer from angina and can’t have major shocks, this particularly was. Nick Griffin was right to say what he did, he’s bound on saying that and that’s what he should have said."

A spokesman for the BNP said: "He (Mr Marsh) has had his Facebook account hacked into. If there was any truth he would have been out of the party, it is simple as that. We are going to be having an investigation. It is a disgrace."

Mr Marsh is one of eight candidates standing in Weaver Vale. Cheshire West and Chester Council’s official notice of election candidates on their website simply confirms that he lives within the Macclesfield constituency.