BOLTON West MP Julie Hilling has claimed she was not given sufficient notice that chancellor George Osborne would be visiting her constituency.

Mr Osborne enjoyed a tour of businesses in Horwich on Thursday.

But Ms Hilling said she only found out about the visit after it had finished — when a letter arrived on the day.

Mr Osborne’s office said a letter had been sent in advance as it would be in all other similar constituency visits.

The visit was hosted by Conservative Chris Green who will battle it out with Ms Hilling for her Bolton West seat at the 2015 general election.

Ms Hilling said she felt it was “proper MP protocol” that she should have been informed “in good time” about the event in her constituency.

She added: “It is my understanding that I should have been told about the chancellor’s visit to my constituency at least a day before but I didn’t receive the letter until the afternoon of the day he arrived.

“I think it is bad manners not to properly inform the MP of the constituency you are attending and it is something you should always try to do — I also think that a high-profile MP like George Osborne should take a lead on this.”

A spokesman for the chancellor’s office said: “A letter was sent in advance in the same way as with all other visits to constituencies.”

Mr Osborne’s trip to Horwich saw him tour a number of independent businesses in the Winter Hey Lane area to see how they were doing and to see what could be done to help them progress.

One venue he did not frequent was the Thyme Deli after owner Amanda Biggs told his team the day before that they would not be able to use the cafe for a sit-down base because she could not afford to miss out on her lunchtime service or risk uprooting regular customers.