Candidates separated by 77 years

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Nearly 80 years separate the youngest and oldest general election candidates in a North Yorkshire constituency.

Eight candidates are vying to be the new MP for Skipton and Ripon, one of the largest constituencies in England.

Among the candidates are Bob Leakey, 95, from the Virtue Currency Cognitive Appraisal Party, and Dylan Gilligan, 18, from the Youth Party.

And 21-year-old Claire Hazelgrove is the Labour party's second youngest candidate in the election.

Mr Leakey stood in the general election in 2005, aged 90, receiving 274 votes, 0.5% of those cast.

David Curry, who has been the area's Conservative MP since 1987, announced last year he would be standing down.

Other candidates standing in the constituency are: Julian Smith, Conservative; Helen Flynn, Liberal Democrat; Bernard Allen, British National Party; Roger Bell, Independent; and Rodney Mills, UK Independence Party.

The Skipton and Ripon constituency covers 1,448 sq km (900 sq miles) and stretches across the Pennines from the edges of Lancashire in the west and to Ripon in the east.

Economy fears

The candidates for the three main parties agreed that aiding the recovery of the local economy should be a priority for the area's next MP.

Mrs Flynn told BBC News: "We are getting less in terms of money for schools per capita, money for houses and doctors services per capita, less for transport and if we don't start to sort these kinds of issues out it's going to have a really bad affect on our economy."

Ms Hazelgrove said: "The economy at the moment and securing the recovery is absolutely crucial and that's the one thing that every single person mentions that I talk to.

"With Labour we are actually on the road to recovery and so making sure that we stay on that road is absolutely fundamental to what we need to do here locally, to protect people's incomes and people's jobs."

Mr Smith said his experience of running a small business would help many people in the area.

He added: "I grew up in a rural community where I saw how tough it is to get the investment for rural communities and fighting for the best level of public investment for our constituency I think is going to be vital for our next MP."