A BOOKIE is reporting a £1,000 bet on Plaid Cymru's election candidate in Islwyn.

Jack Brown says it is the single biggest bet it has received, and it has halved the odds against Plaid Cymru's Leigh Thomas winning the seat, formerly held by then Labour leader Neil Kinnock, from Don Touhig.

Labour's Mr Touhig is defending a majority of almost 24,000, although the seat did turn Plaid at the Assembly election with just 600 votes to spare. However, until now most analysts have assumed the Assembly vote was not an important indicator because of the low turnout.

Leigh Thomas said the bet was a boost to his campaign because it showed that other people were confident in him.

He said: "I don't know who has placed that bet, but we won't let them down. I feel sorry for the bookies.

"The job losses we've seen in this area show people that the government's policies aren't working. Our message is getting through that Labour has let them down."

But Mr Touhig said he smelt a rat. "Only a couple of weeks ago an anonymous punter bet £2,000 on Plaid candidate Lindsay Whittle winning Caerphilly. Coincidence perhaps or the nationalists desperate for headlines?"

He said a real indicator of public feeling could be found by examining the results of the recent by-elections in Blackwood which saw Plaid Cymru finish fourth following a "34 per cent swing from Plaid to Labour".

Karl Williams, spokesman for Welsh bookmaking chain Jack Brown, said: "We often get candidates putting £100 on themselves to raise their profile. But £1,000 isn't pushing a name. Whoever has placed that seriously thinks Leigh is going to win. That's a serious plunge."

The bet was placed in Blackwood. "Frankly, we thought it would take an act of God to win that seat, but we've had to cut the odds in response to the money."

Mr Touhig has seen his odds lengthen from 1/16 to 1/8. Mr Thomas has been slashed from 8/1 down to 9/2.

Other candidates remain at 20/1 and higher. The other candidates in Islwyn are: Phillip Howells, Conservative Mary Millington, Socialist Labour Party Wales Not yet declared, Liberal Democrats.

With Lindsay Whittle also attracting bets in Caerphilly constituency the whole Caerphilly council area is becoming a battle zone.

The only other candidate in Wales to attract such a large wager is Lib Dem Jenny Willott in Cardiff Central. However, she is receiving a big push from the party - both Charles Kennedy and Sir Paddy Ashdown have visited her - and with considerably shorter odds, the bookies are relatively unconcerned.