UKIP leader Nigel Farage says he felt 'awkward' because he could hear no English being spoken while on a Southeastern train from London to Kent.

Mr Farage described described how he was on his way home when he went several stops without hearing his native tongue.

Speaking at his party’s annual conference in Torquay, Mr Farage said: ‘It was rush hour, from Charing Cross, it was the stopper going out.

"We stopped at London Bridge, New Cross, Hither Green.

"‘It wasn’t until after we got past Grove Park that I could actually hear English being audibly spoken in the carriage. Does that make me feel slightly awkward? Yes.

"I wonder what’s really going on. And I’m sure that’s a view that will be reflected by three quarters of the population, perhaps even more."

Mr Farage insisted he was not anti-immigration but said Britain should be able to limit the ‘quality and quantity’ of migrants. While he denied wanting people to be forced to speak English, he said the challenge of integration was ‘very, very important’.

His comments followed a provocative speech in which he claimed some areas of Britain are being ‘taken over’ by migrants, while others have become ‘frankly unrecognisable’.

They came a day after figures showed a significant rise in net migration.