The Ukip election candidate accused of making a Nazi salute earlier this week has come second in the local elections.
Alex Wood won 665 votes in the Somerset county council ballot, despite the controversy over his Facebook photos which appeared to show him raising his arm in the style of Hitler as well as clenching a knife between his teeth.
Conservative candidate William Wallace won the election with 1410 votes. the Lib Dems came third with 412 and Labour in fourth place with 224 votes.
Nigel Farage defended Wood earlier this week, accepting the bizarre explanation that he was actually trying to stop his girlfriend taking photos of him "imitating a pot plant".
Wood denied he was an extremist and said the photos had been taken out of context. He also said racist comments attributed to him on Facebook were a result of his page being hacked.
Alex Wood makes a 'Nazi salute', or tries to grab his phone off a friend
Writing for The Huffington Post UK, Farage said he accepted Wood's defence. "I must confess, I nearly had kittens when I first saw this," he said.
"I’ve looked carefully into this and spoken to Alex, and I believe him when he says that he was angrily trying to take a camera off his girlfriend who was annoyingly taking pictures of him in the pub imitating a pot plant. These things happen - I should know!
"The fact that this is supported by the people who were with him that night suggests that he has been very unfairly treated."
