By Peter Vincent For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 00:13 EDT, 21 May 2022 | Updated: 04:34 EDT, 21 May 2022

Claims of dirty tactics have erupted in a tense battleground election contest, with supporters of one Sydney Labor candidate saying her signs were 'ripped down' overnight.

Posters for Labor's candidate Sally Sitou were allegedly torn down in the key inner Sydney electorate of Reid early on Saturday and replaced with Liberal corflutes.

That was followed by claims of reprisals by Ms Sitou's team, that signs for the sitting member, Dr Fiona Martin, were removed and tossed away.

Tensions continued to rise in a key election battleground seat in Sydney's west when Sally Sitou's signs were allegedly removed, a week after an awkward radio interview in which her rival (Dr Fiona Martin, pictured left), appeared to mix her up with someone else 

Claims of dirty tactics erupted in Reid with supporters of Ms Sitou saying her signs were 'ripped down' and replaced with Liberal signs overnight

In a live Channel Nine television segment, a woman in an 'I vote for trees' t-shirt is shown carrying a corflute with Anthony Albanese's image on it, and dropping it on the ground behind a building. Her allegiances are unknown

On Sky News Dr Martin denied any knowledge of the vandalism and agreed it would be inappropriate behaviour. 

In a live channel Nine television segment, a woman in an 'I vote for trees' t-shirt was seen carrying a corflute with Anthony Albanese's image on it, and dropping it on the ground behind a building.

It is not known which campaign the woman shown was connected to, and there is no suggestion she was acting improperly.

Earlier on Twitter, a Labor volunteer tweeted a photo of a handwritten sign accusing 'Liberal supporters' of 'ripping down' Ms Sitou's signage.

'Vote Labor, Sally Sitou. All of Labor's signage ripped down last night by Liberal supporters,' said the tweet. 

Labor volunteer claimed campaign material was removed from outside a polling station on Chalmers Road in Strathfield, while another claimed to have been awake since 3am repairing vandalised booths.

Labor's Sally Sitou is in a tough battle with the sitting member, the Liberal Party's Dr Fiona Martin

Ms Sitou is in a bitter fight with the sitting member Dr Martin for Reid, which is considered a marginal seat and would go to Labor with a swing of 3.2 per cent.

Earlier in the campaign Dr Martin was accused of a major gaffe by mistaking Ms Sitou for another Labor candidate of Asian origin in a fiery radio debate.

Ms Sitou took to Twitter to clarify she'd never intended to run for Fowler

The Labor candidate demanded Ms Martin apologise for her comments

Live on 2GB Dr Martin accused Ms Sitou of having previously sought preselection in the seat of Fowler.

Dr Martin accused Ms Sitou of contesting the seat of Reid because she'd been 'kicked out' of Fowler by Kristina Keneally.

Ms Sitou looked confused and responded 'now she's just making things up'. 

Many speculated Dr Martin was actually referring to Vietnamese-Australian Tu Le, who was fighting for preselection for the seat.

Dr Martin has since clarified she was referring to reports from 2018 that Ms Sitou was considered as a candidate for the NSW state seat of Cabramatta which is in the Fowler electorate. 

Later on social media Ms Sitou demanded an apology. 

'I have never sought to run for Fowler. I live in Reid, my son goes to school in Reid, and I am excited by the opportunity to represent my community.'

Reid sits south of the Parramatta River, between Drummoyne and Silverwater.

It includes Five Dock, Abbotsford, Concord, Strathfield, Burwood, Croydon, Homebush and parts of Lidcombe.

For many years Reid was held by Labor, but for the past three elections it has been held by the Liberals. 

Many speculated Dr Martin had confused Ms Sitou for Vietnamese-Australia Tu Le (pictured with Anthony Albanese)

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd

Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group