HALESOWEN councillors Ken Turner and Hazel Turner have joined UKIP - handing the party two seats on Dudley Council.

The Cradley South and Hayley Green husband and wife team left the Conservatives late last year amid accusations of intimidation and bullying from both sides and will campaign under the UKIP banner from now on.

Cllr Ken Turner said: “Following discussions with friends, family and the local UKIP branch I was pleased to accept membership of Dudley & Halesowen UKIP.

“I am looking forward to representing UKIP within Dudley MBC and helping to take sufficient seats to become the official opposition group after 2012."

He added: “This is an opportunity to explore major regeneration avenues producing vital and necessary funding to maintain and improve services to our residents.

"Service to all of our citizens is paramount in my concerns.”

Ken and Hazel's son Adrian, a former councillor and cabinet member, joined UKIP last week after leaving the Conservatives.

Bill Etheridge, chairman of UKIP’s Dudley and Halesowen Association said: “I am delighted to welcome Councillors Ken and Hazel Turner to our team as well as taking their son Adrian as a candidate for the forthcoming council elections.

“This is another example of how UKIP is becoming more and more relevant at a local level, providing a real viable alternative for people in the West Midlands and indeed across the country."

He added: “Support for the Tories is collapsing and in our area it is becoming a straight choice between Labour and UKIP, with the momentum gathering behind our party.

“The Turners are well known in the Halesowen area as being straight talking and independent minded so joining UKIP seems to be a perfect fit for them.”

Cllr Ken Turner will stand for election in 2015 and Cllr Hazel Turner in 2016 and will sit as UKIP councillors on Dudley Council until then.