A general election candidate who was arrested for drink-driving while on the campaign trail has been banned from the road for 20 months.

Former Labour hopeful Kathryn Smith, who failed to win the Gravesham seat, was also ordered to pay fines and court costs totalling £750 following her last-minute guilty plea.

The 51-year-old had been expected to deny the charge, despite being more than double the legal limit when she crashed her car into a roundabout in Bob Dunn Way, Dartford, in April last year.

Smith, of Cambridge Avenue, Welling, was suspended by the Labour Party following her arrest, which came just days before voters went to the polls.

For the full story see next week's Gravesend Messenger.