Labour bruiser John Prescott fired up a slimmed-down version of his election battle bus to hit the campaign trail.

The former deputy PM – who famously punched a egg-throwing protestor in the 2001 campaign – was kissed by two young Labour supporters as he set of on a tour of 50 key marginal seats to rally party support ahead of polling day.

Mr Prescott, who is leaving the House of Commons after 40 years as an MP, will revisit areas he campaigned for in 1997, 2001 and 2005. He is expected to drop in to Southampton.

Mr Prescott said: “I’m revving up the battle bus for one last tour. This time it’s absolutely vital that we get our core Labour vote out in this election. There are people who might not have voted for us in 2005 because they thought their vote wasn’t needed.”

“But now it’s going to go to the wire and we need to get every vote out to ensure Labour keeps delivering for hard-working people and stop the Tories turning the clock back to the 80s.”