POLITICIANS normally face a struggle to give their election propaganda away.

It has to be either thrust straight in to the hand of an unsuspecting voter, or pushed through a letterbox when no one is looking.

Even then it often finds its way straight in to the cat litter tray.

So it came as a great surprise to everyone when the Tory candidate for Worcester actually had his leaflets stolen.

The shock theft took place during a hustings-style debate at St Andrew's Church, Worcester, last week.

The Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and UK Independence Party candidates were heckled throughout by a mystery man with a Scouse accent.

He shouted out his own answers to the questions asked by members of the public and generally made a nuisance of himself throughout.

But it was right at the very end that he committed the strangest crime of the year.

Tory candidate Richard Adams had piled some leaflets at the back of the hall.

While making his closing remarks, he joked that he hoped people would pick one up to save him from having to carry them back to the car by himself.

The unwanted guest stood up, grabbed the lot and vanished into the distance.

Labour MP Mike Foster, who witnessed the bizarre spectacle, said: It was absolutely hilarious and all four of us were falling about.

The man had clearly not come to listen and it was just somewhere for him to sit down and have a warm.

It could have happened to any of us, but we can only wonder what he wanted with them.