Independent candidate Rick Moore spent thousands of pounds more than any of his rivals in his bid to become the city's elected mayor.

The total cost of the businessman's campaign was £12,700 – more than double that of Labour's Sir Peter Soulsby, who spent £5,414 and won with 55 per cent of the vote.

Mr Moore, who came third, spent £10,000 of his own money.

Mr Moore said: "I had to spend a significant amount because I had no political machine behind me, I was a newcomer to politics.

"It was an experience that I wouldn't have missed for the world, though."

Election spending documents revealed that Mr Moore spent more than £4,000 on billboards across the city.

Sir Peter said: "The people of Leicester were more interested in who shared their vision for the future than who had the biggest billboard."

Liberal Democrat candidate Gary Hunt, who spent £2,450 and came fourth, said: "Rick spent a lot of money but didn't win because he didn't have anyone in his team with political nous.

"He's a good guy, a nice guy, but if you don't have someone with in-depth political knowledge of how to win elections then it makes no difference what you spend."

Conservative Ross Grant, who came second, spent £3,314 on his campaign.

All three mainstream party candidates were funded by their parties, with spending split between advertising and mass mail-outs.

Councillor Grant said: "As a candidate, you know that the more money you have, the more you can do on the campaign.

"We did as much as we could with the money we had.

"But I'm realistic about how much we could have spent – and the money was raised by volunteers from the local party and I can only thank them for that."

Independent candidate David Bowley outspent two of the mainstream candidates, with a total of £4,337; left-wing Unity for Peace and Socialism candidate Mohinder Farma spent £1,251, Green candidate Geoff Forse spent £305 and independent Nima Patel spent £5.

Election expenses for 18-year-old UKIP candidate Regine Anderson, who did not appear at any of the hustings or with party leader Nigel Farage when he visited the city, showed nothing was spent on her campaign other than the compulsory £500 deposit.

During the run-up to the election, the party released little information about her, other than that she was busy studying for A-levels.

The documents also revealed the donors to each candidate's campaign.

Sir Peter's was funded by the three city constituency Labour parties. Leicester South and West branches gave £3,100 and £2,100 respectively. Leicester East's branch gave just £80.

Mr Moore's £10,000 of his own money was supplemented with a £1,001 donation from Leicester Asian Business Association, £500 from a Mr Fletcher and a further £500 from shop-fitting firm Clements Limited.

The permitted limit on spending, according to Government rules, was £13,000.

Mayoral Campaign Spending

Rick Moore (Ind) - £12,765

Peter Soulsby (Lab) - £5,414

David Bowley (Ind) - £4,337

Ross Grant (Con) - £3,314

Gary Hunt (Lib Dem) - £2,450

Mohinder Farma (Com)- £1,366

Geoff Forse (Green)- £305

Nima Patel (Ind) - £5

Regine Anderson (UKIP)- £0

Lee Sowden (Ind)- NOT RETURNED

Mu-Hamid Pathan (Ind)- NOT RETURNED