Politician hoping to 'knit for victory' in this year's general election

Celia Hickson, who is standing for the Greens in Bradford West, has promised to send her handmade woollen creations to those donating money to her campaign.

Dr Hickson, who described herself as a "compulsive knitter", is hoping to use her skills to raise the £500 deposit she will need to stand in this year's election.

She will knit a sunflower for those donating £10 or more, a mushroom for those giving £20 or more, and a knitted wild animal of their choice for anyone pledging £50.

She said: "I can turn out a sunflower in a couple of hours, while I de-stress at the end of a working day.

"If someone sends their money to my campaign, I can send them a little knitted item.

"You can pin them to your coat and you might make people smile."

The unusual offer is part of the Green Party's use of crowdfunding to bankroll its 2015 general election campaign.

Local candidates are turning to the web and asking people to help them pay for their election deposits and promotional flyers.

Crowdfunding - online fundraising drives which aim to secure lots of small cash pledges for a project or venture - have been growing in popularity in recent years.

The party hopes that by raising cash in this way, it will be able to afford to stand candidates in all five constituencies within the Bradford district.

Councillor Kevin Warnes, the party's parliamentary candidate for Shipley, said the Greens didn't have the big donors that other parties had.

He said: "Five years ago, when I ran for Shipley, we funded the Shipley campaign and Bradford West was the other constituency we stood in. That really stretched us financially.

"Five years on, with social networking, it has become much easier to get our campaign funded."

Cllr Warnes, who lost his £500 deposit in 2010, after only managing to secure three per cent of the vote, said if any candidates were to retain their deposit this time around, the money which people had pledged would be put "back into further campaigning".

And he said membership numbers were soaring, and that last week the Bradford district party had got eight new members in one day - a record for them.

Dr Hickson said recent controversy about the Greens being excluded from national televised leaders' debates had galvanised supporters.

She said: "I think that has incensed people."