Hartlepool candidate Jody Dunn jetted into Bournemouth - and vowed to be the first "half-Finnish, ex-disc jockey in the House of Commons".

By-election fever gripped the conference hall yesterday when the 35-year-old barrister took a break from canvassing.

The hall was swathed in placards in a style reminiscent of US party conventions. In a confident five-minute speech, Mrs Dunn joked that her visit was the "first time in two months I've had lunch and I've had it at lunchtime".

She insisted the "momentum was with us" - despite a Channel 4 poll that recently put Labour 30 points ahead in Hartlepool. And she appealed for the voters of the town to give her a chance when they vote on September 30.

Mrs Dunn said: "The people of Hartlepool are ready to speak out. For many years, Labour has taken the town for granted. Hartlepool has felt sidelined, silenced, ignored.

"But this time it's different. For once, the people of Hartlepool have a real chance to make their voices heard, to elect an MP who won't take them for granted, an MP who'll listen to them and speak up for them, an MP who will never be silenced on the issues that matter to Hartlepool, an MP who won't hesitate to speak out when the Government has got it wrong."

Labour's campaign manager, Fraser Kemp, said Mrs Dunn should have used her speech to apologise for saying householders she met when out canvassing one night were "either drunk, flanked by an angry dog or undressed".

She will fly back to Hartlepool today, accompanied by party leader Charles Kennedy.