Ukip leader Nigel Farage was a "fascist" and "racist" during his school days, according to his former teachers.

A recently unearthed letter from the rabid rightwingers's time at posh public school Dulwich College alleges that he "marched through a quiet Sussex village very late at night shouting Hitler Youth songs."

Written by Mr Farage's former English teacher Chloe Deakin, the letter was sent to the school's headmaster in response to Mr Farage being made a prefect.

"You will recall that at the recent and lengthy meeting about the selection of prefects, the remark by a colleague that Farage was 'a fascist, but perhaps that was no reason why he would not make a good prefect' invoked considerable reaction from members of the common room," said Ms Deakin.

Former Dulwich College teacher Bob Jope told Channel 4 News: "To some extent you might say the accusation from some staff was that Nigel had voiced views that were not simply right-wing, as nobody's going to object to a place on the spectrum, but views that were quite clearly racist."

Mr Farage denied racism but admitted saying "some ridiculous things" as a schoolboy.

The news came as Ukip nabbed a Canterbury council by-election from the Tories and the party gathered for its conference, where Mr Farage said he was looking for a landslide win in next year's local elections.

He also told supporters he wanted Ukip to cause an "earthquake" during the 2014 European elections.