The former Rochester and Strood Ukip

MP Mark Reckless is to stand for election in Wales, it has been reported.

Mr Reckless, who is currently Ukip’s director of policy, has put himself forward as an Assembly candidate in the forthcoming election, according to a report by Wales Online.

He is likely to be the party’s number one candidate in one of the five Welsh electoral regions.

Mr Reckless triggered a by-election last November when he defected to Ukip and while he won the seat, he lost it to Conservative Kelly Tolhurst at the general election in May.

He was appointed the party's policy director in the aftermath of that election and has been campaigning for the party in Wales recently.

According to Wales Online, Mr Reckless has passed the first stage of the selection process to become a candidate but will not know if he has been chosen until October.

The Welsh assembly has a mix of MPs elected by the first past the post system and assembly members elected by Proportional Representation.