Zac Goldsmith hit by his own car on way to Richmond Park by-election hustings

Zac Goldsmith limped into the last hustings of the Richmond Park by-election an hour late after being struck by his own car.

The former London mayoral candidate was not badly hurt but his trousers were “shredded” when a volunteer driving his car clipped him while they were out canvassing.

The collision in New Malden happened as he was due on stage at the Richmond Society’s hustings - his last chance to debate publicly with his by-election rival, Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney.

Arriving an hour late after going home to change, he said he was “so sorry” for missing the start of such an “extraordinarily important event”.

He added: “I wasn’t going to come here before you with a trouser leg shredded and not looking very nice. I really had to go and present myself. I really do apologise for that.”

He later joked: “Trousers are troublesome things in politics.”

He claimed he had not been run over, but his trousers and a “little bit of skin” had been ripped in the accident.

It is not the first time the ex-Tory has had problems with his trousers.

He said he had to “crawl like a crab with my back to the wall into the chamber so no-one could see this cat-flap of my white boxer shorts” after ripping his trousers before making his maiden speech in Parliament.

The fight for last minute votes in the Richmond Park by-election intensified today as both sides claimed they were taking support from each other’s traditional political bases.

While the Lib-Dems believe they have peeled off pro-Europe Tories disappointed at Mr Goldsmith’s backing of Brexit, a source in Mr Goldsmith’s camp said “we are finding previous Lib-Dem voters are coming to us.”

The MP, now running as an independent, admitted he was “feeling the pressure” and an email sent to his supporters said the election will be extremely close.

The Lib-Dems claim they have nudged ahead after their own polling showed them on 47.2 percent of the vote compared to Goldsmith’s 45.8 per cent.

Party leader Tim Farron, who joined Ms Olney in Richmond last night, said: “This could be the public’s last chance to stop hard-Brexit.”

Mr Goldsmith said: “If the reaction I’m getting is a reflection of what happens on Thursday then I think I will win but it’s a hell of a battle this.

“I’m up against an entire national campaign. I can’t compete with that, I’m up against a national party which has put more effort into this campaign than it has ever put into any campaign ever, according to their own press releases.

“I feel the pressure but I am getting a good response on the doorstep.”