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A Liberal Democrat election candidate faces disciplinary action by after sending an explicit image, showing him apparently engaging in a sexual act, to a female Labour rival.

Dean Stone, who stood in the Great Torrington by-election on Thursday (August 31) messaged Labour candidate Siobhan Strode with the bizarre image.

Mr Stone contacted the married mother-of-two on Facebook messenger, wishing her good luck, then asked if there was "anything embarrassing" in her past.

When she told him she was too boring to have any skeletons in the closet, Mr Stone sent an image in which he was naked and apparently taking part in erotic roleplay.

The photograph was accompanied by the question "your opinion on this then?".

Mrs Strode, who was on a family camping holiday when she received the indecent image, said she had been politely engaging in a text conversation with Stone, who she knew from her local campaigning activities.

She said she was deeply shocked to receive the picture from someone she barely knew.

"I don't even know what I thought," she said. "It is repulsive."

"I am a nice person and I find it really odd that someone would send such an unsolicited image.

"I did not in any way encourage him to send me a photograph."

A few days later, Mrs Strode informed her campaign manager, James Craigie, who contacted the Liberal Democrats.

This prompted an unreserved apology from Mr Stone who admitted it was a "breach of acceptable boundaries of social media communication" and committed to "refrain from any future similar communication".

The Labour candidate had intended to leave the matter there until she saw comments by Stephen Potts, a member of the Torridge and West Devon Liberal Democrat Executive who was overseeing local candidates.

He said in an email that "due to the sensitivity" of the matter he had taken "senior LGBT+ advice" and this was why Mr Stone's apology had been delayed.

Labour were angered by this remark as neither of the two candidates are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

Mr Craigie said it suggests that behaviour such as sending erotic material to strangers is to be expected from LGBT+ people.

He added: "Were I minded to, I could take that as an insult to the entire LGBT community in suggesting they are all perverts and send indecent images as a matter of course."

Mr Stone, whose lives in Great Torrington is one of two Lib Dems contesting the election, along with three Labour candidates and one independent.

Three out of the six hopefuls will be elected to the town council after the votes are counted following the closure of the polls at 10pm on Thursday.

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Torridge District Council, which ran the election, said it was aware of the issue between the two candidates.

Returning Officer Jenny Wallace said: "The council is aware of the situation and we have been in contact with both parties but this is not a matter for the council's election team."

Mr Craigie originally said the matter had not been reported to the police by Labour, though Devon and Cornwall police were informed on Wednesday, according to Mrs Strode.

He said the decision to go public came after what he called a "victim blaming apology" from the Lib Dems.

"The initial reaction was shock and surprise and (Siobhan) took several days to bring it to my attention," he added.

"It is her first election and she was uncertain about what to do. I thought that the Lib Dems should be aware that this sort of behaviour was not really appropriate."

Mr Craigie also said it was important to shed light on the matter was to quell the inaccurate rumours that were swirling around the town.

"One of the reasons we want to get it straight is we want to make sure people know it wasn't the Labour party candidate that sent the image," he added.

"We want to avoid our other candidates being slurred as the guilty party.

"It was incredibly poor judgement from the candidate to send such an image. Whatever his sexual activities are is up to him but making them public is bizarre and worrying."

"It is her first election and she was uncertain about what to do. I thought that the Lib Dems should be aware that this sort of behaviour was not really appropriate."

Mr Craigie also said it was important to shed light on the matter was to quell the inaccurate rumours that were swirling around the town.

"One of the reasons we want to get it straight is we want to make sure people know it wasn't the Labour party candidate that sent the image," he added.

"We want to avoid our other candidates being slurred as the guilty party.

"It was incredibly poor judgement from the candidate to send such an image. Whatever his sexual activities are is up to him but making them public is bizarre and worrying."