The first Olympic gold medal taken in 2008 by a British athlete has been won by Welsh cyclist Nicole Cooke.

It is the 200th gold won by a Briton in Olympic history and the first time in 36 years a Welsh athlete has won one.

The 25-year-old from Wick in the Vale of Glamorgan was racing in the Women's Road Race.

She finished in a time of three hours, 32 minutes and 24 seconds. The last time a Welsh athlete took a gold medal was in 1972.

Nicole Cooke took Britain's first gold medal in 2008 Cooke's Olympic gold celebrated

Speaking after the race, she said: "We did it, it was perfect. It's a dream come true.

"I want to thank all the people who have been there from the start. I have worked so hard, I am so happy."

Sports Minister Tessa Jowell said: "All congratulations to Nicole for a fantastic victory and what you can't perhaps quite sense at home is just the torrential rain that was falling on Beijing - and despite those incredibly tough weather conditions, she won.

"It's a wonderful victory and a huge lift for Team GB."

Friends and family at her home town in south Wales are planning to hold a celebration in her honour at a pub in the village later on Sunday.

Cooke, who was born in Swansea, started racing seriously at 11 and her first big race was the Welsh Under-12 Cycle Cross Championships

Nicole Cooke crossing the finishing line In pictures: Gold medal party

She became youngest winner of the Cycling World Cup at the age of 20.

In 2002 she grabbed Commonwealth gold in her first season and in 2006 and 2007 won the Grande Boucle Féminine, the women's equivalent of the Tour de France.

Four years ago in Athens, she came a very creditable fifth in the women's road race and 19th in the women's road time trial.

But at the 2008 Olympics in China she claimed her first gold medal.

It was the first time since equestrian Richard Meade picked up two golds in the 1972 Games, one as a member of the three-day event team and one individual gold, that a Welsh athlete has taken Olympic gold glory.

Cooke's family and friends watched the race from their home in Wick.

First Minister Rhodri Morgan described her victory as a "fantastic achievement".

"I am so pleased for her because she had been planning this for four years since her disappointment in the Athens Games in 2004 when she was outwitted in the final attack.

"This has brought her, Wales and Britain the honour of an Olympic Gold - the greatest prize in sport.

"It has been for a very long time, if ever, since a Welsh woman has taken a gold medal," he added.

Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones said: "This is another incredible achievement for one of our great sporting champions.

"Despite such dreadful weather conditions, Nicole's strength and sheer determination secured a victory in China that will be celebrated as a great moment in Welsh sporting history for many years to come."

Lib Dems say the government's asbo scheme should be used less often

Youngsters who commit minor crimes or anti-social behaviour should not face prosecution in courts, under a new Liberal Democrat crime strategy.

The party said it views custody for youngsters as a "last resort".

Children who admit guilt would appear before panels of local people to apologise, with punishment in the form of a "positive behaviour order".

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said Labour "criminalised a generation of young people".

"It is time for a new approach to youth justice which both prevents crime and confronts young people with their actions if they do break the law," he said.

'Face consequences'

Three out of every four children who were sent to prison went on to reoffend with more serious crimes, he said.

Mr Huhne told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We need to make sure they face up to the consequences by having a victim-led system of justice for young people, which is less formal but actually in many ways more more shocking.

"Because it really does change their behaviour if they are confronted with the consequences of their actions early on."

More money needed to be spent on activities for young people to keep them out of trouble, he added.

The government's Asbo regime should be used less frequently, the Lib Dems strategy document stated.

Nothing is being done do stop young people getting sucked in to a cycle of crime Chris Huhne Lib Dems

And the party recommended a greater use of so-called "restorative justice" programmes, under which offenders could be forced to meet victims and see the consequences of their crimes.

Community Justice Panels, made up of local people, should be used to deal with low-level crimes, with youngsters explaining their actions and making a "symbolic apology" - such as cleaning up graffiti, for example.

Shops which sell alcohol to under-18s could face being stripped of their licence at the first offence, under the plans.

Meanwhile, cannabis would remain a Class C drug, which the Liberal Democrats argued would allow police to concentrate on more serious crimes.

The youth crime strategy said gun and knife offence hot-spots should be targeted with high-profile policing and the extensive use of intelligence-led stop-and-search powers.

And the party called for one Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) within every neighbourhood team, to be dedicated to working with local youngsters.

Mr Huhne said there was a need to "take action early" to prevent youngsters "embarking on a life of crime".

"The old parties are falling over each other trying to be tough on crime, but nothing is being done do stop young people getting sucked in to a cycle of crime," he said.

Ian Oakley has since left the Conservative Party

A former Tory candidate has pleaded guilty to a campaign of harassment against his Liberal Democrat rivals.

Ian Oakley, who stood down as the Tory candidate in Watford last month, admitted five charges of criminal damage and two of harassment.

Oakley, of Ryeland Close, West Drayton, west London, asked for 68 other offences to be taken into account.

His case was adjourned until 16 September for psychiatric reports. He was warned custody would be an option.

The Lib Dems have called on Tory leader David Cameron to hold an "urgent inquiry" into the procedures and activities of the Watford Conservative Party.

St Albans Magistrates' Court was told Oakley had damaged property belonging to the Lib Dems and had harassed rivals Sal Brinton and Russell Willson.

Letters

He slashed tyres and wrecked shutters at the Liberal Democrat headquarters in the town.

He made silent phone calls to Ms Brinton between August 2006 and March this year, and sent her gay and lesbian magazines, the court was told.

Both the harassment and the criminal damage offences were targeted very often to homes of the individuals involved and were vindictive in nature Barry Northrop Chair of magistrates

Letters addressed to "Sal Bitchton" were also sent to her workplace.

Oakley's campaign against Mr Willson was mounted from February to May this year and included painting graffiti on his home, calling him a "perv".

He also sent letters to him and his backers wrongly accusing Mr Willson of being a "child abuser".

Donna Rayner, prosecuting, said Oakley had been driven by a "desire to change the political landscape in Watford".

He also slashed tyres on cars belonging to councillors Peter Ray and Mark Watkin and smashed the rear light on a car owned by Nasreen Ajab using a hatchet and Stanley knife, she said.

'Great distress'

Oakley's fingerprints had been found on envelopes containing poison pen letters and CCTV had caught him in one of the graffiti attacks.

Adjourning the case, Barry Northrop, chairman of magistrates, told Oakley the offences were "very, very serious indeed, so serious that custody would be an option".

I am relieved that Ian Oakley has pleaded guilty and that the nightmare of the last three years may finally be coming to an end Sal Brinton Lib Dem parliamentary candidate

He said he had caused "great personal distress" to his victims and their families.

"Both the harassment and the criminal damage offences were targeted very often to homes of the individuals involved and were vindictive in nature," he said.

"By your own admission, this course of action was intimidatory."

Oakley was granted bail until sentencing, on condition he does not contact a number of people named by the court.

Ms Brinton, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Watford, said she was pleased Oakley had pleaded guilty and was relieved "the nightmare of the last three years may finally be coming to an end.

'Appalling' events

"This has been a traumatic period for all those who have suffered from his vile campaign to defame, intimidate and terrorise people, simply for expressing support for a political party," she said.

Oakley, who attended court wearing a dark grey suit, spoke only to confirm his name and address and enter the guilty pleas.

He had been the Conservatives' general election candidate for Watford, but resigned from the party on 19 July following his arrest.

Edward Davey, the Lib Dem chairman of campaigns and communications, said he had written to Mr Cameron to find out why Watford Conservatives had "failed to investigate the matter properly and to ensure that such an appalling course of events is never repeated".

He said: "This was a disgraceful and criminal campaign aimed at intimidating candidates and voters and subverting the democratic process."

Labour MP Claire Ward managed to hold Watford by a slim majority of 1,148 over the Liberal Democrats in the 2005 general election.

The constituency is one of the few areas in the UK where there is a three-way split in votes between the major parties, making it a target seat for both the Lib Dems and Conservatives.