UKIP leader Nigel Farage has urged people to "do something historic" and return Mark Reckless as the party's second MP at next week's by-election in Rochester and Strood.

Mr Farage made his plea at a rally in Rochester's Corn Exchange, where he was joined by Mark Reckless ahead of the poll next Thursday.

In now familiar rhetoric, he said that Ukip was the only party capable of bringing change to Westminster politics.

But he was forced to clarify the party's position on the NHS - a key issue in the area - after video footage emerged of him suggesting two years ago that the NHS should be privatised or could be funded through an American-based insurance system.

He told the audience that it was "a bit rich" for Labour leader Ed Miliband and shadow health secretary Andy Burnham to accuse Ukip of wanting to privatise the NHS.

"Who introduced the Private Finance Initiative which has left a financial millstone round their necks?" he said.

While the polls have suggested Ukip are on course to win, he said he knew the party was doing well because of David Cameron's appeal to supporters of the other parties to vote tactically to deprive Ukip of victory.

"I really know we are doing well when the Prime Minister comes to Rochester and says 'please,please, please vote Conservative...we can't have that ghastly Rochester chap [as MP].'"

He wrapped up his address with a call to voters to make history.

"A Ukip vote is not a protest vote. The reason people are voting Ukip is because of a positive reason - they want a real change in Britain. This is by far the most important by-election in 30 years. If you want things to stay the same, you vote for one of the other parties. But if you want real change by getting our pride and self-respect back, let's do something historic - you can do it by voting for Mark Reckless."

Mark Reckless at the rally

Mark Reckless claimed the by-election wasn't about him, but about keeping faith with the community.

When questioned about gay rights Mr Farage said the party treated everyone the same under the law - "it's as simple as that".