Victorian Liberals defend election leaflets warning of 'gangs hunting in packs'

Labor says leaflets handed out in electorate of Keysborough are 'nasty and bigoted'

The Victorian Liberal opposition has defended distributing election leaflets that warn of "gangs hunting in packs" in Melbourne, which Labor has denounced as "nasty and bigoted".

The leaflet, which features the opposition leader, Matthew Guy, and the Liberal candidate for Keysborough, Darrel Taylor, was handed out in Keysborough on Thursday morning. It comes amid a growing backlash to a recent Channel Seven story suggesting the city was gripped by an "African gangs" crisis.