A popular web forum for Walton residents has been forced to close down after a contributor on a message board compared an Elmbridge councillor to Levi Bellfield, the man accused of killing Walton schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

A message on walton-on-thames.org states: "The board was disabled in the short term due to inappropriate messages posted by a number of users.

"Access will be restored in due course."

The post in question, written on April 9 by "nextdoor Joe", had a picture of the councillor next to a picture of Bellfield.

It said: "One of these is an Elmbridge councillor, the other... Make sure you can tell the difference."

This was followed by a post by another forum user which said: "Vote Levi Bellfield. Vote Tory."

Both posts were still on the forum on April 12, the day before Mr Bellfield appeared at Staines Magistrates' Court to face the charge, but after the councillor informed Elmbridge Council of the comments, the moderator was asked by the local authority to remove them immediately.

The councillor involved said: "What was written says more about the people posting than me.

"It wasn't only offensive to me, butmore importantly, offensive because it is on a Walton website at the time a man has been charged with the murder of a schoolgirl from the area.

"The parents of Milly Dowler could have seen it and that is horrific."

Hersham Councillor John O'Reilly, a regular contributor to the website, who is due to become the leader of the Elmbridge Conservatives next month, said the moderator of the website should have removed the comments immediately.

He said: "It is rather sad people regard that kind of thing as funny.

"Politicians are rightly ridiculed - that is part of the democratic process - but to compare anyone to somebody who has been charged with murdering a local girl is sick.

"To put that kind of filth on a website is just sick."