A wildlife campaigner known for dressing as a fox has withdrawn from the Clacton by-election.
Rob Pownall, 27, founder of Protect the Wild, had intended to stand against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in a fox costume, but has since announced in a Facebook video that he will not go ahead with his candidacy.
Mr Pownall said: "Over the past couple of months, I have stood in two national elections, each time there is a real purpose behind the costume.
"When I stood against Andy Burnham in Makerfield, it got me a direct conversation with the man who is to become our next Prime Minister.
"When I stood for the Scottish Parliament dressed as a giant gannet, it was about putting the Guga Hunt in front of as many people as possible.
"Clacton was no different.
"The point was never to win a seat it was to make one argument stick: Farage cannot call himself anti-establishment while defending fox hunting, because it tells you everything about whether his party can be trusted on animals.
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"We've made that argument without ever officially entering the contest.
"We've achieved what we wanted to achieve and the people of Clacton frankly deserve better than to have this facade of democracy dropped on their doorstep."
Mr Pownall described the contest as "a circus," claiming that sharing a stage with Laurence Fox and a "disgraced reality star from Married At First Sight" does not help his cause.
