Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, a black British businessman and founder of food label, ‘The Black Farmer’ has drawn attention to his electoral campaign by a novel, and rather unconventional manner.

The prospective Conservative MP was seen riding around on horseback in the town of Chippenham, Wiltshire, where he is standing as a candidate against the seat held by the Lib Dems.

Emmanuel-Jones wrote on his website: “I think I may have surprised some Saturday shoppers on Chippenham High St by riding through the town centre on a shire Horse!”

Riding on horseback wasn’t a PR gimmick he maintained, but a small part of a day focused on the future of the areas rural woodland. He said:

“The ride was entirely impromptu…it was only a small part of my day which was focused around answering locals’ questions about development at Bird’s Marsh”

“The most important thing is that Chippenham gets the houses it needs in the places they are needed without damaging the fabric of the town. Chippenham needs consulting before areas such as Bird’s Marsh are damaged forever,” he added.

The Conservative leader, David Cameron, is making attempts to bring more ethnic minorities and women into Parliament for the coming general election.

The economy, immigration, education and the NHS are likely to feature as prominent issues of debate.