CANDIDATES for a Crewe by-election have clashed after one of the prospective councillors voiced his opposition to the Covid-19 vaccine.

Brian Silvester, who is due to stand for the Crewe West ward in borough and town council elections next May, came under fire from his Labour rival Connor Naismith for advising people not to have the vaccine.

Mr Naismith said the social media posting was "grossly irresponsible" and undermined key workers.

His counterpart, claims the vaccine, which has been rolled out in Cheshire over the last two weeks, is not the "magic bullet" and "will only be 50 per cent effective".

Mr Silvester tweeted last Friday: "My strong advice is NOT to have the vaccine. I could say why but I do not want another ban."

Labour's candidate for the by-elections said : "I would absolutely encourage people to have the vaccine when they are deemed a priority as per the NHS rollout.

"It is grossly irresponsible for a candidate for public office to give this kind of unsubstantiated advice and it certainly undermines the struggle and sacrifice undertaken by our key workers and the wider community.

"It is evident the wellbeing of Crewe West residents will always come second to Brian's extremist Twitter following."

Mr Naismith says the successful rollout of a vaccine is considered to be vital in the fight against the global Coronavirus pandemic.

Initially, vaccinations have been offered to the over 80s and care home workers from a hub at the Countess of Chester Hospital. But last week jabs were rolled out into primary care with GP practices in the Crewe area expected to take delivery of the vaccine over the coming weeks.

Mr Silvester - a former deputy leader of Cheshire East Council's Conservative group - has been a long-standing opponent of the government's lockdown measures.

The former Conservative restated his opposition to the vaccine and claims government strategy to suppress the virus with restrictions until the vaccine takes effect is misleading.

"None of the vaccine trials are designed to detect a reduction in any serious outcome such as hospitalisations, intensive care or deaths. Nor are vaccines being studied to determine whether they can interrupt transmission," said Mr Silvester, who is standing for election under the banner of Putting Crewe First.

"The vaccine will not be the magic bullet to kill all Covid stone dead."

Mr Silvester says the World Health Organization's (WHO) special envoy on Covid-19, David Nabarro has advised world leaders that lockdowns should not be the primary means of controlling the virus.

Mr Silvester says vulnerable people should isolate with support, but those at least risk from getting coronavirus should be "allowed to get on with their lives".

"The Labour and Tory parties are determined to have a never ending lockdown that destroys jobs and local businesses and will end up killing at least four times as many as Covid," he said.