Nigel Farage turned heads in Canterbury city centre this morning during a surprise visit as part of his election campaign.

Media crews scrambled into a small antiques clothing store in St Peter’s Street as the Ukip leader dropped in to chat with the owner.

Debbie Barwick said she had to close to the public as Mr Farage spent around two hours in her shop browsing wares and chatting.

The Revivals owner said: “It’s a quirky shop here with lots of interesting items on show and I think he seemed genuinely interested.

“I think he was showing his support for small businesses and he seemed to want to hear what we had to say.”

Among issues Mrs Barwick discussed with Mr Farage were the potential loss of city centre parking spaces and the new mandatory Business Improvement levy on businesses.

Asked if Ukip had won her vote, Mrs Barwick said: “I’ll vote for anyone who supports small businesses.”