Arriving at the constituency Mr Blair told voters: "There are two choices tomorrow. The first is the choice to vote for Margaret Hanson who has been here 21 years, or a Tory candidate who has been here 31 days."

The BBC's Laura Trevelyan: "The decision to ban fox hunting has contributed to the devisiveness of the campaign"

The prime minister was jostled by protesters bearing placards with the slogan "Save the pound" and "Towny Tony learn about the country". Some tomatoes were also thrown.

Junior Trade Minister Ian McCartney later denounced the protest as "an organised attempt to disrupt a democratic open debate".

He challenged Tory leader William Hague to denounce the actions, of what he said were Tory supporters.

The election is proving heated with Labour's pledge to ban hunting with dogs stirring up emotions in the Cheshire seat, which is home to one of England's oldest foxhunts.

The prime minister's visit on Wednesday comes after Conservative leader William Hague made a high-profile tour of the Cheshire constituency and mocked Mr Blair for not being there too.

The announcement of Mr Blair's visit was made a day after the prime minister said he did not have time to turn out to campaign.

Ending the campaign with a visit by the prime minister is a coup for Labour candidate Margaret Hanson - and shows the party thinks it may have a chance of winning.

Recent opinion polls have suggested Labour has a slight lead over the Tories, although the constituency has been traditionally held by Conservatives.

Tories taunt Blair

During his visit, Mr Hague attacked Labour's conditional support for the euro, saying it was out of touch with national opinion.

William Hague says the prime minister is running scared

"The people of Eddisbury want to know why this government is planning to bounce them into a single currency as soon as it possibly can," he said.

"The prime minister likes to pose as the invincible man but on the issues he has become the invisible man."

Mr Hague also penned a postcard to the prime minister, saying: "Dear Tony. Tuesday. Where were you? Thought we had a date! Wish you were here. William."

The Tory leader added that the by-election was a chance to give the government "a good kick".

Thursday's by-election has been caused by Sir Alastair Goodlad's appointment as the new High Commissioner in Australia

At the last election Sir Alastair retained his seat but with a drastically reduced majority - down from 13,000 to just more than 1,000.

Six candidates are contesting the by-election. They are:

• Stephen O'Brien (Conservative)
• Margaret Hanson (Labour)
• Paul Roberts (Liberal Democrats)
• Roger Everest (Independent Euro Conservatives)
• Dinah Grice (Natural Law Party)
• Alan Hope (Monster Raving Loony Party)