Shaun LowthorpePensioner Margaret Durrant put the kettle on yesterday after receiving a visit from Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman - but did not quite have time for a cup of tea.Shaun Lowthorpe

Pensioner Margaret Durrant put the kettle on yesterday after receiving a visit from Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman - but did not quite have time for a cup of tea.

Ms Harman joined the party's candidate John Cook and party activists to canvass homes on Catton Grove Road and talk about policies for families.

And Mrs Durrant, 78, a retired dressmaker, decided to put the kettle on after seen the politician approach, flanked by activists and the media.

'I thought the poor woman needed a cup of tea and I was trying to make it, but they didn't have time,' she said. 'It was a shame for her as I think she would have liked a cup of tea, but I think she was in a hurry to get away.'

Ms Harman also chatted to Vicki Penrose, a mother-of-three, who spoke about cuts in classes at her local SureStart Centre.

But the 32-year-old said afterwards admitted she was unlikely to vote Labour.

'I haven't completely made up my mind, but I'll probably vote Conservative because I just think the country needs a change and that's why I'm voting,' she said.