EURO-ELECTION candidates rolled into Blackpool this week in a bid to win votes in next month's poll.

With just three weeks left before the election, major party candidates were in the resort to boost their chances of winning some of the regions nine seats in the European Parliament.

Liberal Democrat Euro-MP, Chris Davies, and members of his campaign team visited the area in their battle bus which called at Anchorsholme Park, Squires Gate and the house in Lytham where Mr Davies was born.

"We know there are a lot of eurosceptics in Britain," Mr Davies told the Citizen: "We're not appealing to them, we are appealing to those who realise it is in Britain's best interests to be in Europe. We're happy to be described as the most pro-European party."

European laws, such as those on bathing water standards, helped areas such as Blackpool, he added.

London Green Euro-MP, Jean Lambert, and North West Euro-candidate, John Whitelegg, visited the town on Tuesday to launch the party's programme for pensioners at the National Pensioners' Parliament.

Mr Whitelegg, a city councillor in Lancaster and an internationally renowned expert on transport, hopes to become the North-West's first Green Euro-MP.

The Greens have pledged to freeze pensioners' council tax at the current rate of inflation, introduce free local public transport, free loft and wall cavity insulation for over 60s and a Benefits Rights Unit in every local authority. Mrs Lambert said: "Two-thirds of our pensioners live in poverty. A Green vote in this year's elections will tell the other parties to follow the lead taken by the Greens in their Pensioners' Pledge."

Parties contesting the nine-seat North West euro-constituency also include Labour, Conservative, British National, Countryside, English Democrat, Liberal, Prolife and Respect parties and one independent. Voters will choose a party rather than a candidate in the all-postal election, for which ballot papers will be dispatched later this week.