MONMOUTH AM David Davies has surfed some of the world's top spots in the last 16 years - just don't ever call him 'dude'.

The 34-year-old started surfing when he was 18, but it was during a year's stay in Surfer's Paradise, an Australian holiday resort just south of Brisbane, that he honed his technique.

These days, as an AM who plans to stand in next year's expected general election as Tory candidate for Monmouth, and with his first child due next week, Mr Davies no longer has time to get out of bed at 5am and surf before work like he used to.

But he still escapes with one of his four surfboards for an hour now and again to relax. Mr Davies said: "I used to get up very early and go out each morning, especially in the winter, when all the best waves occur in Britain.

"Anyone can surf but they need to put the idea of blue skies and gorgeous beaches out of their minds. Serious surfers in the UK know to expect freezing temperatures and howling winds.

"The main cost of surfing is your airfare, but after that it's very cheap. You must expect to rough it, in terms of accommodation and electricity and so on - it's not the jet-set lifestyle you might imagine."

Before he married his Hungarian wife, Aliz, last year, Mr Davies let surfing determine where he travelled on holidays and enjoyed camaraderie with other surfers - but says he doesn't feel entirely comfortable with the 'long-haired drop-out' image of the sport, and wouldn't like to be called a 'surfing dude'.

"I use surfing to relax and because it's one of the most demanding and enjoyable forms of exercise there is. There's always a fellowship between surfers, even though it's a solo sport."

Refusing to be pidgeonholed, Mr Davies also rejects the idea that politicians are stuffy and boring, saying: "We all have our ways of relaxing and forgetting the stress of the job."