But Kent Police said initial inquiries suggested there is 'no evidence'

Police have rejected conspiracy theorist claims that the election in South Thanet was rigged to stop Nigel Farage becoming an MP.

Tory candidate Craig Mackinlay won the seat in Thursday's election, beating the Ukip leader by 2,800 votes.

The margin of the Tory win sparked claims that the result had been fixed, but Kent Police today said that 'initial inquiries' suggest there is 'no evidence' of electoral fraud.

Resignation speech: Nigel Farage quit as Ukip leader after failing in his bid to become an MP in South Thanet, pictured - as his party called for the first past the post system to be scrapped

Mr Farage quit as Ukip leader on Friday after being defeated in his attempt to gain a seat in the Commons. The Ukip leader secured 16,026 votes, with Mr Mackinlay achieving 18,838.

But in a bizarre twist, on Monday Mr Farage 'unresigned' after the party formally rejected his decision to stand down.

Some Ukip supporters raised doubts about the result, after Ukip took control of Thanet District Council in local elections held on the same day.

They claimed the vote had been rigged to stop Mr Farage becoming an MP and suggested the election result took far longer than usual to be called.

The Twitter hashtag #thanetrigged gained momentum online, with some users claiming that Ukip's local council triumph so soon after Mr Farage's defeat pointed to suspicious behaviour in the parliamentary contest.

But a Kent Police spokesman said: 'On Monday May 11, Kent Police was contacted by a member of the public from outside the county around election fraud due to speculation on social media in South Thanet.

'Initial inquiries by officers have been carried out and so far no evidence of electoral fraud has been found.'

Tory candidate Craig Mackinlay won the seat in Thursday's election, beating the Ukip leader by 2,800 votes

Thanet District Council said in a statement: 'A single complaint has been lodged with Kent Police by a member of the public, from outside of the county, with concerns around the Thanet parliamentary election - following speculation on social media.

'Kent Police has an obligation to follow up this complaint. Thanet District Council is not under investigation for election fraud.

'The council's returning officer is satisfied that the correct processes were followed and a member of the Electoral Commission was present at the election in Thanet.

'In response to the speculation on social media: Thanet's parliamentary boundary is larger than the district boundary - extending into the Canterbury and Dover area - so comparing the parliamentary and district election results is misleading. There were no lost or stolen ballot papers.'

Mr Farage had repeatedly promised to step down if he failed to win the seat of South Thanet, saying it would be 'curtains for me' if Ukip had MPs in the Commons and he was not one of them.

Shortly after it was announced he had been beaten by Tory candidate Craig Mackinlay - a former Ukip member - Mr Farage held a press conference on a cliff-top where he boasted: 'I am a man of my word.'

He said he would be writing to Ukip's national executive 'in a few minutes' to confirm his resignation as leader, and was looking forward to a summer holiday.

But in the sort of u-turn Mr Farage would normally mock in his opponents, yesterday the party announced a change of heart.

Ukip's chairman Steve Crowther insisted that technically Mr Farage had kept his promise to resign, but he had been rejected by the executive.

'On that basis Mr Farage withdrew his resignation and will remain leader of UKIP.'