Brexit and the EU Referendum: UKIP leader Nigel Farage delivers 'Leave' rallying cry during visit to region

Ukip leader Nigel Farage charmed his way around Welshpool, popping in for his customary pint and chatting to Thursday afternoon shoppers he bumped into.

Speaking to the Shropshire Star, he said: "I want the United Kingdom to be a self governing independent democracy that makes its own laws, controls its own borders and sets its own destiny. We can't do that as members of the European Union – it's time we broke free and took back control of our own lives."

Mr Farage was in the Mid Wales town to unveil Des Parkinson as the party's candidate for the police and crime commissioner election for Dyfed-Powys in May, as well as canvas for the Welsh Assembly elections.

But it was the EU Referendum that dominated proceedings.

After canvassing on Broad Street in the town and chatting to local residents and business owners, Mr Parkinson and Mr Farage – with his pint in hand – kicked back and made the most of the afternoon in the town.

In a bid to convince those against voting Leave or those on the fence, Mr Farage made his stance on the Brexit debate clear, even trying to touch on the region's hotly contested issue of what Leave will mean for farmers.

Despite NFU Cymru claiming that the interests of Welsh agriculture would be best served by the UK remaining in the EU, Mr Farage argued that was not the case.

Mr Farage said: "Carwyn Jones told me that if we left the EU all farming would cease, yet for thousands of years people have been farming in Wales.

"We supported British agriculture before we were in the common market, we will go on doing so. We spent £6 billion a year subsidising agriculture, £3 billion of it in France, and the rest of in Europe that's the point, £20 billion in, £10 billion back.

"If we could be able to look after farming fully and still have £10 billion spare then they shouldn't be worried at all."

Mr Farage also raised the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy), part of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) that he said gets forgotten about.

"There is no question that if we come out of the EU, we will take back our territorial waters and there will be a lot of families in Welsh fishing that will be very pleased indeed," he said.

Mr Farage raised the point that being in the EU did not prove advantageous for many businesses in the region, going as far as to say local businesses are bound by a rulebook that isn't needed.

He said: "The vast majority of businesses in Mid Wales do not trade with the EU, yet are bound by EU legislation."

Ahead of the election for police and crime commissioner, Mr Farage placed his weight firmly behind Mr Parkinson, describing him as a man "who has some real experience".

A retired chief superintendent, Mr Parkinson said a visible police presence was "crucial" and that would be one of his priorities if elected as police and crime commissioner for Dyfed-Powys.

He said: "Officers have been kept but they are now doing more and more office jobs instead of being out and about on the ground. Policing needs to be made more visible. It's just not working as it is.

"I was at a meeting with the chief constable and other retired officers, and everyone said what's happened to our officers on patrol, on foot or in cars. The public need to be seeing that, rather than them carrying out office jobs.

"We have police stations threatened with closure or being run down, Welshpool's looks more like a morgue than a police station. We need these stations for policing to be visible."

Mr Parkinson also called for a stop to road safety vehicles "making money on motorists travelling at 33mph in a 30 zone".

"Of course we need to stop excessive speeding but if someone goes slightly over the limit, they ended up being given a fixed penalty or ending up in court. That needs to stop," he said.

The candidate also insisted he would place his weight firmly behind a designated public place order, which Welshpool Town Council has been crying out for in a bid to tackle antisocial behaviour blighting the town.

The order, which has now been renamed as a people and place order, would restrict drinking in the town.