LIBERAL Democrat grandee Paddy Ashdown described his party’s candidate for Mid Dorset and North Poole as ‘a little atom bomb’ during a visit to the area yesterday.

Lord Ashdown, Lib Dem leader between 1988 and 1999, was in Wimborne to campaign for parliamentary candidate Vikki Slade, who is replacing the retired Annette Brooke.

The constituency is being hotly contested, with Ms Brooke winning with a majority over the Conservatives of just 269 in 2010 – and both David Cameron and Nick Clegg have already visited since campaigning began.

Lord Ashdown said his party can be credited with ‘dragging the country out of recession after Labour trashed the economy’ – and thinks Ms Slade can continue Ms Brooke’s ‘extraordinary’ work.

“She is a little atom bomb,” he said. “I mean Annette Brooke is a pretty fabulous MP, extraordinary MP, full of fire and vim and full of determination to protect the people of this area.

“If there is a worthy successor I know anywhere in our party it is Vikki.”

When challenged by the Echo over his party’s decision to ditch its policy to make university education free and instead raised annual fees to £9,000, he replied: “Do you want to judge us by one wrong policy, in my view, taken before the last election, or five years solid government with the Conservatives in partnership, putting the nation first and dragging this country out of the worst economic recession of our times?”