BLAENAU Gwent MP Dai Davies' wife Amanda is on the long road to recovery after undergoing a major heart operation.

Mrs Davies, 42, a former nurse, underwent a heart valve replacement in a four hour operation at Bristol Royal Infirmary.

Now she hopes to be back to full fitness and back on her bike within a year.

She was born with valve stenosis, a heart condition that only became apparent while she was pregnant with son Aled, now ten.

Her condition was made worse by carrying a baby and doctors told her not to have any more children.

It left her tired, short of breath and unable to walk far.

After three years on the waiting list Mrs Davies, of Mount Pleasant Square, Ebbw Vale, had the operation on February 11, and returned home a week later.

She is now half-way through a six-week recovery, during which time she was looked after by her mother Joyce Godden at home, and then by her MP husband in his London accommodation, while son Aled stayed with friends.

Mrs Davies, who was a paediatric nurse at Abergavenny's Nevill Hall hospital for five years, said: "It didn't feel right or fair to be alone in the house with Aled so I went to London with Dai. It's a slow recovery process but I'm getting there."

Mrs Davies said the support from friends and family has been "incredible."

She added: "I hope now I will be able to do the stuff I haven't been able to do for a while. I used to enjoy cycling. By next spring I hope to get the bike out again and try some of the cycling routes around South Wales."