The video will start in 8 Cancel

Sign up to our newsletter for the latest County Durham news Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A Tory candidate has accused Labour supporters of forcing Boris Johnson to cancel his visit to a County Durham market town due to 'milkshake' fears.

The Prime Minister had been due to meet voters in Barnard Castle, in the Bishop Auckland constituency.

Once a safe Labour seat, the South West Durham area is a key target for the Conservatives this general election.

Mr Johnson is understood to have cancelled his trip to Barnard Castle, a rural town with a population of fewer than 5,500 people, suddenly.

The BBC's North East political editor, Richard Moss, tweeted that the decision was made because of "security concerns over protesters in the area".

Conservative candidate Dehenna Davison, who is hoping to take the Bishop Auckland seat from Labour's Helen Goodman, said Labour 'activists' were "ready to 'cause trouble".

She tweeted: "Today Boris Johnson should have been in Barnard Castle to visit a few local businesses with me and meet local shoppers. About 20 Labour activists turned up, one allegedly armed with a milkshake, ready to cause trouble.

"Very sad for local residents who were excited to see him."

(Image: handout)

Bishop 4 Labour, the official Twitter account of the Bishop Auckland Constituency Labour Party (CLP), replied to Richard Moss' tweet with a picture of a small gathering of party supporters holding 'Vote Labour' posters.

The group is mainly made up of elderly people and children, and there is one dog wearing a red rosette.

The party tweeted: "Surely he wasn't afraid of this lot. They're adorable. #BackdoorBoris strikes again."

Labour held onto Bishop Auckland in 2017 with a majority of just 502 votes, or 1.2% of votes cast.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage was hit by a milkshake during a visit to Newcastle city centre back in May.