Wisbech taxi driver Dave Patrick set to stand as an independent for Kirkgate Ward this May

A former town and district councillor has announced he will be standing as an independent on May 2.

Dave Patrick, who represented Kirkgate Ward in Wisbech for five years from April 2010, is hoping to beat off the opposition and retake his former seat..

He fought the election in 2010 as a Lib Dem before first becoming an independent and then latterly a UKIP member. Now he is returning to his independent status.

Mr Patrick, a taxi driver, told the Citizen he was hopeful of success and explained while he's standing as an independent he hasn't "thrown his lot in" with the newly created group of independents that has sprung up across the district led by a group of dissatisfied Conservatives.

He said: "I will definitely work with them should we all get elected, but I believe you can't be a member of a group and independent.

"I think there are a lot of people who have had a enough of the Tory stranglehold on Fenland and the way they operate, so I would not be surprised to see even more jump ship and stand on an independent ticket.

"There is no place for politics in local government, it is about doing the right thing for the people you represent, and I promise I will do my best for Kirkgate Ward."