Nigel Farage failed to turn up at a UKIP rally in Croydon because it is a 'dump' where he was scared to visit in case he got stabbed or shot, according to one of his election candidates.

The event in the town centre was billed as having a carnival atmosphere.

But the steel band that had been booked to play refused to perform after discovering what they had been booked for and campaigners shouted 'racists' at the borough's Ukip candidates.

The party leader was rumoured to be in the town in a car waiting for a signal to come until the party decided it was too dangerous.

Candidate Winston McKenzie said: There's a lot of people round here and the police cannot block bullets man.

“It's not a case of being scared, it's a case of being a responsible family man and it is like being a boxer going into the ring. There are certain situations that you do not go into.

"If he hasn't turned up then he's a very sensible man.

"Croydon which used to be the place to shop has now become a dump.

"How can an international leader turn up somewhere he feels unsafe?

"Croydon has deteriorated over successive Labour and Tory governments and now we have a coalition Croydon has descended into depravity."

Mr McKenzie stood for election for UKIP as MP for Croydon North in 2012, when Mr Farage came to visit him on the election trail. Mr McKenzie is also standing for election to Croydon Council on Thursday.

He also stood as an independent candidate for London Mayor in 2008, where his campaign slogan was: "I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee; I've got the policies they can't see".

Watch a Croydon Guardian video of Mr McKenzie from the archives...

 

 

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