Farage has drink thrown over him on first day on the trail

The Reform UK party's new leader, Nigel Farage, had a milkshake thrown over him on his first day of campaigning in Clacton, the Essex constituency where he is making his eighth attempt to become an MP.

- Ben Quinn

After announcing on Monday that he would take over the Reform party and stand as a candidate, after initially saying he would not run, he visited the seaside town yesterday to begin seeking support.

After addressing supporters at a rally on the pier, the veteran Eurosceptic carried out media interviews at the Moon and Starfish, a Wetherspoon's pub on Clacton's beachfront.

As he left the pub, a woman appeared to throw a banana milkshake over him.

A woman, 25, was arrested on suspicion of assault after the incident.

Essex police said while officers were detaining the suspect, a man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

Farage appeared to make light of the incident later, posing with a tray of four McDonald's banana milkshakes during a visit to the town of Jaywick in the constituency.

His entry into the general election race has prompted alarm among Conservatives. Marco Longhi, a Tory rightwinger fighting to retain his seat, Dudley North, made an appeal for Reform not to target like-minded Conservative incumbents.

"This internal struggle of the right narrative is going to, by default, almost certainly deliver a leftwing government, which is the opposite of what we both want," Longhi told the Times.