A TORY Assembly candidate who admitted drink-driving will stand in the May election, it was revealed yesterday.

Laura Anne Jones, 23, the party's candidate for Caerphilly, was stopped by police on Caerleon Road near Usk on December 22, 2002, at 1.30am, Abergavenny magistrates heard yesterday.

The officer noticed Jones, of , Llanbadoc, near Usk, who was driving a VW Golf, "smelled strongly" of drink.

She was arrested after failing a roadside test and a further test at Abergavenny police station showed 47mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Jones pleaded guilty to the charge of driving with excess alcohol. She was banned from driving for a year.

She was among seven Assembly candidates who met Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith in Usk last Thursday, and she is set to stand against Labour AM Ron Davies, the former Welsh Secretary, in the May Assembly election.

Jones said after the hearing: "I've never justified drink-driving and the decision is one I deserve. I've never done it on purpose."

She said she would continue to stand against Mr Davies. Sophie Toms, defending, blamed the "cumulative effect" of drinks taken during the day, which started with a glass of sherry at Jones' grandmother's home in the early afternoon. Ms Toms said: "On the night she was stopped, she was returning home and had been visiting friends making preparations for Christmas.

"She drank two or three glasses of weak lager a number of hours before setting off. But she had half a glass of wine before she drove home.

"She didn't feel intoxicated and felt fine to drive home. At 4am, police deemed her fit to drive."

She said Jones, a politics graduate from Plymouth University, was an intelligent and articulate ladywho apologised to the court and the police for any inconvenience caused. The court heard that Jones is not in full time employment but has a job starting in May, managing events for the Ryder Cup golf tournament. Jones said the position could be threatened by the ban.

The court heard how she passed her test at 17 and has six penalty points on her licence. The court ruled that a ban will be reduced by three months if Jones completes an alcohol rehabilitation course by August 21. She was also fined £75.

A Welsh Conservative Party spokesman said: "It's a private matter involving her and the authorities. It does not affect her choice to run for the Assembly."