Prime Minister Boris Johnson surprised Bank Holiday crowds in Whitley Bay when he stopped off to enjoy some chips on the seafront.
Mr Johnson popped into the Whitley Whaler chippy on Marine Avenue, on Monday, May 2, where he ordered a "small chips" before strolling along the promenade. The Tory leader, who was on a pre-election visit to the North East, was spotted chatting to walkers outside of Spanish City at around 4pm.
Georgia Walker, who has owned the Whitley Whaler chip shop for 11 years, said the Prime Minister's visit was a total surprise.
"It was great," she said. "It was a surprise, we had no idea he was coming.
"He asked staff how business was and he was very friendly. The employee explained how we were battling with high fish prices at the moment but doing our best to keep costs down for the customers.
"He was very pleasant and shook their hands. He was in Whitley Bay for around 20 minutes and walked along the new promenade in front of Spanish City and had some chips.
"He spoke to some people outside of the chip shop and it was nice to see how excited the children were by his visit.
"He got a welcoming reception in Whitley Bay. His visit was not just good for our business but for the area too."
The Whitley Whaler said although Mr Johnson was the first politician to have popped into their shop, the business has welcomed celebrities through the doors over the years.
Georgia added: "Boris was our first political visitor but we have had Robson Green and Vera film in the shop before!"
The Prime Minister's visit to Whitley Bay followed a trip to Hartlepool earlier on Monday. With voters due to go to the polls on Thursday, the PM took a tour of the town's power station along with Hartlepool MP Jill Mortimer.
During his visit, Mr Johnson said how energy is one of the most important areas which needs to be prioritised to improve the economy.
When asked how he thought the Tories would fare in the polls on Thursday, Mr Johnson said the key thing is to look at what the party is delivering. He said there has been huge investment in the North East, adding: "You can see investment, really, coming into the North East hand over fist.
"What we are talking about here today is to deal with the immediate issues, which are people's energy bills and a long-term sustainable strategy."
He said at a time when there is pressure on budgets, councils should be keeping council taxes as low as they can, while delivering the best possible service, Teesside Live reports. He said: "Conservatives do fill in four times as many potholes and take out bins twice as fast and give better value for money and that's what people should remember, Conservatives are the lowest possible council tax for the best possible services."
The Prime Minster said: "I think we are the only party, only government in modern times, that is actually fanatically focused on delivering a leveling up agenda. I think the UK can be the most profitable economy in Europe.
"We have done a lot already, but there is a huge amount more to do, but I think the agenda is the right one for the North East for the country. High wage, high skilled jobs. We have a pressure on the cost of living, we have a pressure on family budgets, but the best answer to that is high wages, high skilled jobs.
"There are families now who are feeling the pressure form energy costs and from fuel costs. It has all been driven by global energy prices. You have to help them, you help them in all sorts of ways, with council tax rebates, the individual payments, but you have to make sure that council's have enough hardship funds to help families who are struggling.
"We recognise of course there will be families having a tough time but the best answer is high wage jobs, what we are also doing is making sure those families have somebody who is in work. We are having quite a lot of success, actually, in getting people off welfare and into work."
