Campbell plays up £4m for sport

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Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell has highlighted his party's assembly election plans to spend £4m on sports coaching in Wales.

He said sport could "create patterns of discipline and achievement" to help young people throughout life.

Sir Menzies, a former Olympic sprinter, returned to a Cardiff running track he trained on in the mid-1960s.

Elsewhere, a row broke out between Plaid Cymru and Labour over Asbos and Conservatives focussed on transport.

Sport can play a very important part in society Sir Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat leader

Nearly every prominent Liberal Democrat figure in Cardiff turned out to meet Sir Menzies at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) site in Cyncoed.

He inspected the track he had trained on some 40 years ago, in a sporting career which took him to the 1964 Olympics, 1966 Commonwealth Games and brought him the UK 100 metres record from 1967 to 1974.

Sir Menzies said sport had "played a very important part in my life and I believe sport can play a very important part in society.

"In particular it can help us to have a much healthier society and also, for young people, it creates patterns of discipline and achievement which can be of great value to them in the rest of their lives".

The party has committed itself to keeping schools open "after-hours" so local communities can use their sports facilities.

With six of the 60 seats in the last Welsh assembly, the Liberal Democrats formed the smallest group in the chamber.

But they are considered the party most likely to join a coalition should no group win a majority on polling day.

'Barmy ideas'

Plaid Cymru and Labour were involved in a skirmish over Anti-Social Behaviour Orders.

Labour accused Plaid of wanting to scrap them.

Visiting Ammanford, UK social exclusion minister Hilary Armstrong warned that ditching Asbos would "place thugs back in charge of communities".

She said: "Whereas we are returning control of the streets to respectable and law-abiding citizens, Plaid Cymru's barmy ideas run the risk of encouraging anti-social behaviour and send out all the wrong messages.

"Their politicians need to live in the real world."

Defending its plans, Plaid Cymru maintained it would not abolish Asbos immediately but said it wanted more use of community service for young people.

The orders, the party argued, should only be used in extreme cases.

Plaid's Ian Titherington said Labour's reliance on the Asbo was failing.

"They've had ten years to make it work and it is not working," he said.

Mr Titherington added: "We're looking at alternative policies that are going to be more beneficial to the community than...a fits all policy of Asbo and nothing else."

Car sharing

Meanwhile, Conservatives announced plans to introduce integrated public transport passes across Wales.

Tory assembly group leader Nick Bourne also said commuter rail services would be boosted and car sharing schemes expanded.

Mr Bourne said: "Welsh Conservatives are committed to developing initiatives which persuade more people out of their cars and onto public transport.

"Developing integrated public transport passes with local councils will form a key part of our proposals to get Wales moving and to tackle environmental issues."