A BASINGSTOKE councillor has been arrested over allegations of theft, The Gazette can reveal.

Matthew Ellery, who is a UK Independence Party councillor for the Brighton Hill South ward on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, has been questioned by police on suspicion of theft from Squirrels Collectors Centre in New Street last month.

The antiques shop is owned by Ellery’s father, Alan Stone, who is the Basingstoke UKIP branch leader and the party’s candidate at the General Election in May.

Ellery has now been bailed until May 14.

A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said: “A 21-year-old man from Basingstoke has been arrested on suspicion of theft.

“He has been released on bail pending further inquiries.”

The Gazette approached Ellery for a comment on his arrest but he did not respond.

The 21-year-old was elected as a councillor last May in a by-election for the seat following the resignation of Labour’s David Eyre.

His term of office runs until May 2016.

Ellery is currently free to continue as a councillor while the allegations are under investigation.

The borough council’s monitoring officer, Lisa Kirkman, told The Gazette: “Under the Local Government Act and our constitution, a councillor cannot be disqualified unless convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for at least three months.”

Ellery has previously caused controversy within UKIP over offensive comments he made on a social networking website while campaigning to be elected a councillor last year.

He was temporarily suspended while party officials investigated his behaviour on Facebook which included describing women living in Basingstoke as “pug ugly”.

Yet voters still elected the then 20-year-old – who was at that time a student at Bournemouth University – to the council.