A Conservative candidate has been suspended after his campaign leaflet appeared to accuse Labour of "delivering hepatitis" to his constituency.
Kamran Razzaq was campaigning in the West Midlands' Cradley and Wollescote ward ahead of local council elections on May 3.
The politician delivered leaflets to potential supporters describing what he believed running parties had done for the area.
It claimed the Conservatives had delivered the likes of "regeneration" and a "voice for residents and businesses".
But under the heading "what have Labour delivered to this ward" the leaflet says "hepatitis" followed by "decline of this area".
A third brief list adds that UKIP had brought "two defibrillators" and "petitions".
A spokesman for the Conservative Party told the Standard that Mr Razzaq had been suspended and said an investigation is underway.
A picture of the flyer was originally posted online by Christian Calgie, a parliamentary aide at the House of Commons.
The reference to hepatitis appears to allude to reports of an outbreak of hepatitis A at a primary school in Lye.
According to The Stourbridge News, Labour candidate Tim Crumpton revealed the outbreak in April after being informed of the case during a confidential briefing with health officials.
A West Midlands Labour Party spokesman told the Standard: “It's right that the Tories have suspended this person. Dog-whistle politics that seeks to create hate and division has no place in our society.”
