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Police said two tomatoes were thrown during different parts of the Chancellor's speech with one striking her left hip. One of her aides was also hit by the flying fruit as the words "liar" and "hypocrite" rang in her ears.

The noisy demonstration was fresh evidence not all votes are guaranteed at the general election on September 24 when she seeks a fourth term in power. Some 3,000 people were at the rally and those who demonstrated against her were angry at her refugee policies which have seen over a million immigrants enter the country in the last two years.

RUPTLY The German Chancellor was hit by a tomato thrown from an angry crowd

If we made a mistake, then it wasn’t in taking in people Angela Merkel

Mrs Merkel said in defence of her decision to open the doors to migrants in 2015: “If we made a mistake, then it wasn’t in taking in people, but rather that we didn’t pay attention to the fact that people in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Syria didn’t have enough to eat, weren’t getting an education and put themselves into the hands of people smugglers." The chancellor has been heckled during several campaign events, mostly by supporters of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party which has attracted many of her CDU party supporters into its ranks.

ALAMY Angela Merkel looks at a stain on her jacket during a campaign event

Angela Merkel in pictures Tue, August 8, 2017 Angela Merkel has served as German Chancellor since 2005 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000. We take a look at her political career in pictures. Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 83 Angela Merkel through the years