A FORMER Worcester UKIP parliamentary candidate has hit out at Steven Woolfe being barred from the party's leadership contest today - calling it "very disappointing".

James Goad, who tried to become the city's MP last year, says party officials were wrong to rule him out after missing the application deadline by 17 minutes.

In a dramatic turn of events this afternoon Mr Woolfe, an MEP who was by far the highest profile candidate to take over from Nigel Farage, was told his forms were too late to be accepted.

Mr Woolfe said technical problems with UKIP's website prevented him from getting the form filmed by Sunday's midday deadline, despite starting the process at 11.35am.

Mr Goad, who is now backing Worcestershire MEP Bill Etheridge as new UKIP leader, said: "Steven Woolfe has got amazing support within the party, and to be excluded on such a technicality is very disappointing.

"With Steven Woolfe excluded there's a big unknown, people would have been a lot happier had he been allowed to stand.

"I think that's a mistake, but it's all to play for now - I'm supporting Bill Etheridge who has very strong support in this region."

Mr Etheridge, who represents the West Midlands region in the European Parliament, has revealed policy after policy in the last fortnight to try and get ahead in the contest.

Some of his ideas include banning the Burka in public, having a referendum on reintroducing the death penalty and charging prisoners £40,0000 a year while they are behind bars.

Ramping up his rhetoric in the leadership campaign, he said: "We are in a severe security situation - if you are in a public place that is security sensitive, I'm afraid you have got to show your face."

Mr Woolfe's blocking has ignited a civil war within UKIP today, with many of its MEPs, donors and Farage-leading activists criticising the decision.

His exclusion leaves UKIP's home affairs spokeswoman Diane James as the clear frontrunner in the contest.

Alongside Mr Etheridge the other confirmed candidates include deputy chair of UKIP's Lambeth branch Elizabeth Jones, MEP Jonathan Arnott, activist Liz Duffy and former general election candidate Phillip Broughton.

Following hustings events and voting among the party's membership a new UKIP leader will be revealed on September 15.