THE former Benny Hill girl who is standing against Tony Blair in Sedgefield at the General Election will do so as a Pensioners' Party candidate.

Cherri "BlairOut" Gilham, 60, started her campaign at the beginning of the year as a one-woman anti-war protest, but now she has joined a party set up six months ago to represent pensioners.

She said: "From my experience of chatting to many senior citizens in Sedgefield, I've gathered that vast swathes of people are seriously disenchanted with Mr Blair."

Pensioners' Party leader Roger Brett said: "She's the only candidate we have standing in the General Election and I'm allowing her to make her own policy statements. It's very much her show."

The former 1970s Page Three model, who also worked with the comedian Benny Hill, has set up her own website at www.blairout.org

She is the second candidate to begin campaigning against the Iraq war on Mr Blair's home turf.

Last October, Gloucestershire businessman and former Labour supporter Jonathan Cockburn formed the New Socialist Party and began his battle to defeat Mr Blair.

Mr Cockburn has now renamed his organisation The Blair Must Go Party and he has distributed 14,750 leaflets to Sedgefield homes which portray the Prime Minister as a war criminal.

"I've changed the name of my party because I want to have a broader appeal and I'm hoping to pick up votes from not just disaffected Labour supporters but from Tories and LibDems too," said Mr Cockburn. His website is www.blairmustgo.org

It is widely speculated in Westminster that a third anti-war candidate may stand in Sedgefield.

Musician Brian Eno is believed to be behind the plans, and it is understood that David Shayler, the Middlesbrough-supporting MI5 whistleblower, is doing some groundwork with a view to standing.