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A member of the Welsh Assembly has claimed nearly £10,000 to travel to work.

Since he was elected in 2016 to represent the region of mid and west Wales, Neil Hamilton AM has claimed thousands of pounds travelling between his Wiltshire mansion and Cardiff Bay.

Mr Hamilton is the only Assembly Member who lives outside of Wales.

A freedom of information request from WalesOnline found that Mr Hamilton had claimed £7,620.30 in travel expenses between Cardiff Bay and his manor house in Wiltshire since he started as an AM.

In addition, Mr Hamilton also claimed an additional £1,471.70 in travel expenses between Cardiff Bay and his home for his wife Christine Hamilton.

The region he represents is the largest of Wales' regions and includes Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and parts of Powys and Gwynedd.

(Image: Stuart Cole)

Mr Hamilton's wife Christine is currently employed by him as a senior advisor. Since May 2016 she has been earning £40,972 at the public's expense.

The practice of hiring family members has been banned by the Assembly but in February last year the body which decides on Assembly Members’ pay and allowances decided to allow AMs to carry on employing their relatives until 2026.

Originally, the Remuneration Board decided the practice should end by 2021, but after taking account of representations made to it, chose to allow it to carry on until 2026.

In a letter to AMs, the board's chair Dame Dawn Primarolo said: "Following a consideration of the responses it has received to its consultation on the matter, the board has agreed to provide a longer 'transition period' for those family members currently employed by AMs."

Mr Hamilton was featured in WalesOnline last year after he went on a bizarre and misleading rant about climate change.

The house which he is travelling to is his seven-bedroom Hullavington manor house.

The historic building was once the home of Edward IV and later William Collingbourne, who conspired against Richard III in 1484 and was beheaded for writing a defamatory rhyme.

The older wing of the home dates back to the 1400s, while the newer wing is 200 years old, linked by a medieval dining room.

The couple bought the property for £1,175,000 in December 2004 but is now believed to be worth over £1.5m.

Nothing that Mr Hamilton has claimed is outside the rules laid down by Remuneration Board.

An AM is entitled to claim for the cost of their partner and/or any child under the age of eighteen making a journey by public transport between Cardiff and their main home. Members do not need to travel with their family.

Members may only claim for 12 single journeys in each year for members of their family.

Mr Hamilton and UKIP did not respond to approaches for comment.