Watch George Osborne almost get hit in the face by a paper machine

Video: In the words of Ed Miliband, it was a 'close shave'

(ITN)

The general election may be five months away, but the campaign almost had its first casualty on Friday.

Chancellor George Osborne narrowly averted getting hit in the face with paper during a visit to a factory in Warrington.

Video shows Osborne packing boxes with sheets of paper. After he finishes work on one box, he moves onto the second. Yet he fails to notice a tube in front of him that shoots out paper for the packers to use.

The paper is pushed out and narrowly avoids hitting Osborne in the face. He manages to grab hold of the paper and instantly has a good laugh at the near miss.

Not that Prime Minister David Cameron was concerned about his Chancellor: the Tory leader can be seen deep in conversation with Warrington workers in the background.

Cameron and Osborne are on the second day of a two-day visit to the north-west of England, with the Chancellor saying yesterday that he wanted to create a "northern powerhouse".

He said that such a hub of activity in the north should do come at the expense of London, stating that rebalancing the UK economy was vital but it should not be achieved by "pulling down" the capital.