Inflatable Boris Johnson erected near Hartlepool by-election count

A 30ft inflatable version of Boris Johnson, the prime minister, was spotted in Hartlepool overnight, after constituents went to the polls on Thursday to vote in a by-election for their new Member of Parliament.

A local group known as the Hartlepool Wombles installed the inflatable outside the town’s Mill House Leisure Centre, where votes were being counted. Taffy Turner, landlord of the pub the inflatable was anchored to, said: “If he can get this town moving again, he’ll do me.”

Conservative candidate Jill Mortimer has since won the contest, making her the first Tory to take the constituency since its creation.