CONSERVATIVE Party chairman David Davis visited the Basingstoke area on Friday to boost the Tory bid for power in this week's local government elections.

Addressing local Conservatives, who at present have 25 councillors in opposition to a joint Labour-Liberal Democrat administration of 15 councillors each, Mr Davis said: "Basingstoke is an important one for us to win. We have a very good chance of winning here - and it will be one I will be watching for on the night."

As he visited the new Festival Place shopping centre, due to open in October, Cllr Phil Heath told him: "The Labour-Liberal Democrat administration has taken eight years to get this done and there are distinct worries that it won't be ready by the opening day in October."

Mr Davis also visited the Brighton Hill area where he was shown two bags of litter that had been picked up in nearby Cumberland Road.

"We picked all this up last night," Cllr Heath told him. "A litter review showed that they should have been spending £200,000 a year more over the last five years on litter - that is £1million short. This year they have put in an extra £100,000 of quick money.

"And the pavements here need repairing but they are not done - whereas in the town centre they have relaid the pavements three times in four years."

Mr Davis said: "If you leave rubbish lying around long enough, people lose pride in the area and drop their rubbish even more. If this was a Tory council I would be ashamed and I would be giving them a rollicking.

"The tragedy is that graffiti on the walls and rubbish on the streets brings the whole area down and allows standards to drop. After this comes petty crime and hooliganism and muggings. It is the beginning of decline and it is so unnecessary. If you allow rubbish to lie for years then everybody's standard drops."

Prior to visiting Basingstoke, Mr Davis stopped off in Tadley where he met other Conservative candidates and North West Hampshire MP Sir George Young outside Budgens. One of the issues they discussed was the store wars between Tesco and Sainsbury's who have both been battling to bring a new supermarket to the town.