Solicitor to fight theft conviction

Davies charged one of the women when he read poetry to her

A disgraced solicitor and former Plaid Cymru parliamentary candidate is to appeal against his conviction.

Rhodri Vaughan Davies, 55, was jailed for three years for stealing from two elderly sisters.

His defence lawyers visited him in Leeds Prison last week and he has instructed them to seek leave to appeal against both his conviction and sentence.

An application will be made to a judge in the Court of Appeal in London within a matter of weeks.

Davies was found guilty of stealing around £50,000 from the women when he was convicted at Mold Crown Court this month.

During his four-week trial, the court heard that he visited one of the women at the Ceris Nursing home, near Bangor, to read poetry to her, and then charged her hundreds of pounds for the privilege.

Davies, who moved to Beaconsfield in the south of England and continued to practice as a solicitor, was charged with nine counts of theft, deception and forgery.

A former head of administration for Anglesey County Council who gave up the post to pursue his political ambitions, Davies carried out the offences in the 1990s.

Davies was ordered to pay £30,000 compensation after the court heard that some money had been repaid by the Law Society.