A British National Party councillor has come under fire for driving a car with a number plate which seems to spell 'Nazi'.

Cllr. Julian Leppert, 41, who is councillor for Hainault and a close aide to BNP leader Nick Griffin, arrived at Redbridge council meetings in a black Ford Focus with the registartion number NA51 ZCY.

Redbridge councillors are now demanding the BNP man resign from his ward, which has one of the highest Jewish populations in the country.

Council leader Keith Prince called for Cllr. Leppert's resignation and said he should "hang his head in shame".

Conservative councillor Veronica Cole said: “When I first saw the number plate on his car I couldn’t believe my eyes. It is sickening and appalling.

It beggars belief that even a BNP councillor could think this kind of behaviour is acceptable. Veronica Cole

“It beggars belief that even a BNP councillor could think this kind of behaviour is acceptable.”

Cllr. Leppert said he had now decided to sell the car because of the controversy, but denied he had chosen the number plate deliberately.

“This isn’t a personalised number plate. I needed to buy a car in a hurry a couple of years ago and found one for sale online. The number plate was blacked out so it wasn’t until I arrived to pay that I saw it," he said.

He added: “Had I known I would probably never have bought it. I am planning to sell the car now as the other councillors seem to want to make a political point. I find that pretty cheap.”