Maverick landlord Fergus Wilson is set to fight on to have his conviction for assaulting an estate agent overturned.

He wants to clear his name in a bid to clear his name ahead of the election for Kent police and crime commissioner.

Election rules state that those who stand as candidates must not have had a criminal conviction, regardless of whether they went to prison.

However, no challenge is possible until nominations are formally made.

The local paper reports that Wilson’s appeal is unlikely to have been heard before May 5, and he believes that his nomination would have to be accepted.

However, while the local paper reports that he is launching an appeal, in fact he has appealed before – and lost.

In April 2014, Wilson was found guilty of punching an estate agent, Daniel Wells, in the Folkestone office of PLS (Property Letting and Sales) in a row over a broken boiler.

Wilson had stormed into the offices and shouted “Right you little sh*t” at Mr Wells before knocking him off his chair.

At his trial, Wilson admitted he did shout the words, but claimed Mr Wells had fallen out of the chair.

The court did not believe him and Wilson was fined over £1,650 for the offence, including £150 in compensation to Mr Wells.

In August 2014, there was a four-day hearing at Canterbury Crown Court when Wilson unsuccessfully appealed against his conviction.

It was heard by a judge and two magistrates who took less than 15 minutes to dismiss his appeal. They not only upheld his sentence but he was ordered to pay further costs of £750.

Wilson said after that case that he was unhappy with the verdict and would consult his lawyers “about where I go with this”.

Yesterday, the local paper reported that Wilson has now formally instructed lawyers to appeal against his conviction, and to seek a judicial review.

Kent’s current police and crime commissioner, controversial Ann Barnes, is not standing for re-election with her successor being elected on May 5 and sworn in on May 11.

In December last year, Wilson and his wife Judith sold almost all their 1,000-strong portfolio of buy-to-let properties for £250m.

At one stage in their property career, which began in the early nineties, they were buying at the rate of one home a day.

The Wilsons have often been embroiled in controversies, including evicting 200 tenants on benefits even if they were not behind with their rent.

Wilson has previously made clear, both to his local paper and to Channel 4 News, his ambition to stand as police and crime commissioner for Kent.

Fergus Wilson loses appeal after assault on agent