Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn stops off in Stourbridge as part of action day campaigning against police cuts

Mr Corbyn strolled down the High Street in the sunshine, with police officers and West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, after having a cup of coffee at the Chemistry Cafe.

The Labour leader stopped off in the town, posing for selfies with pleasantly surprised shoppers along the way, as part of a Labour Party action day of campaigning against Government cuts to the police force which in the West Midlands have totalled £145million since 2010.

He also kickstarted Dudley Labour Party’s campaign ahead of the May 3 local election by meeting party members and activists at Wollaston Village Hall and knocking doors on The Kingsway with newly-selected candidate for Wollaston and Stourbridge Town - Harriet Foster, (pictured below) who runs the Chemistry Cafe.

The 31-year-old former charity worker, who is set to go up against sitting Conservative councillor Nic Barlow, described having the opposition leader join her on the doorstep as “surreal” - while councillor Pete Lowe, who is hoping to return Dudley Council House to Labour’s control after losing power last May, said Mr Corbyn’s visit had been a “fantastic” way to kickstart local election campaigning in the ward which looks set to be a key seat to win in this year's race to the polls.

He said: “I personally requested two weeks ago - asking if he would come - not thinking we would be fortunate enough to get the leader of the Labour Party in Stourbridge.”

Mr Corbyn, who was accompanied by Shami Chakrabarti, Labour’s Shadow Attorney General, told the News: “I’m here to support the campaign for the local election for Dudley - to help elect a Labour council to stand up for the people of Dudley.”

He said police cuts and crime were key issues on the door step - and he is pledging, if elected at the next General Election, to “employ a lot more police officers” but he added: “Crime is a product of lots of things - particularly a breakdown of community.

"It’s about the problems councils face with the loss of funding and the impact that has on public services - it’s about increasing living standards and about having a living wage that’s really a living wage.

“If we carry on making local government and the health service pay the price we get a hollowed out local authority who can barely keep up with their statutory responsibility and a health service that is stretched badly - we end up with a poor society.”

He said he’d enjoyed a “very good reception” on the doorstep in Wollaston and had been shared a few gardening tips with residents before venturing into the town where he couldn’t resist popping into the Cats Protection charity shop in Lower High Street where he snapped up a £3.99 carved ornament for his office in Westminster.