Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls is under investigation by police after he allegedly scraped a parked vehicle and drove off without telling the owner what had happened.

Mr Balls was performing a 'seven point turn' in Morley, West Yorkshire, where his constituency office is located.

CCTV cameras apparently caught the Shadow Chancellor causing the damage, but he said he had been 'unaware' that anything untoward had occurred.

Mr Ball's aging Ford Mondeo now bares scratches, but his spokesperson has stated that these appeared after the police took paint samples from the car.

Fortunately the scrape was not serious and did not require the services of vehicle recovery operators. However, the incident has proved embarrassing for Mr Balls, since police have started making ‘fail to stop collision’ enquiries.

The vehicle that sustained the damage was a black Peugeot 306.

Speaking about the incident, Mr Balls said: ‘I was aware that at one point the bumpers of the two cars touched.

‘But until I was contacted the following Wednesday, I had no awareness at all that there had been any damage to the other car.

Mr Balls has been in hot water with authorities before, having once driven through a red light. He was also once caught driving at 56mph in a 50mph zone.

No doubt there will be some comedic jibes aimed at the Shadow Chancellor when he next speaks in Parliament.