Prime Minister David Cameron paid a visit to a weekly newspaper office after the title published an open invitation on its front page.

The Cornishman wrote to Mr Cameron last month and asking him to see for himself the effects of the recession on Penzance’s high street.

The letter was part of the title’s Go To Town campaign, which aims to boost the town centre and has seen free parking, street cleans and pop-up shops introduced.

And following the request, Mr Cameron duly visited The Cornishman’s offices last week ahead of an election trail around the South West.On his arrival, the Prime Minister was greeted by Cornishman editor Jacqui Walls for a walk through the town.

He then met members of the local Town Team organisation at the paper’s offices before carrying out a one-to-one interview for the title. The paper also produced a video of his visit.

Jacqui said: “This was a great opportunity for the paper to use its influence to invite the most powerful man in the country to our town and find out how he could help us save the high street.

“We were able to outline some of the positive steps people here are already taking to combat the recession, while also highlighting the areas where we feel the government can help us.

“We hope he will carefully consider some of the issues facing towns like Penzance and offer some real solutions to fill empty shops, combat the effects of out-of-town supermarkets and encourage investment in Penzance.”

The paper’s story and video can be viewed here.