The son of a late Assembly Member hopes to continue his father’s “legacy and hard work” by securing the nomination to be Labour’s candidate in a special election.

Jack Sargeant, 23, has put his name forward to succeed his late father Carl as the Labour representative for Alyn and Deeside in the Senedd.

In his only print interview, Jack said putting forward his name to be the party’s candidate in a by-election on February 6 was something “under these circumstances it’s something I feel I need to do”.

His father Carl, 49, was found dead at the family home on Englefield Avenue, Connah’s Quay, on November 7.

Hoping to continue father's legacy: Late Carl Sargeant and his son Jack Sargeant, right

Just four days earlier, he had been sacked as Welsh Government cabinet secretary for communities and children after allegations were made regarding his personal conduct.

He had denied any wrongdoing and vowed to clear his name.

The Labour Party confirmed last week they had closed an investigation into the former AM while a coroner’s inquest and three Welsh Government inquiries have been set up in the aftermath of his death.

Hundreds gathered both inside and out of St Mark’s Church in Connah’s Quay on December 1 for Mr Sargeant’s funeral.

Setting out his candidacy for the position held by his father for 14 years, Jack Sargeant said he wanted to be Alyn and Deeside’s “local champion” and repay the “support and love” his family had received from the community.

He said: “I believe the representative in Cardiff Bay for Alyn and Deeside should be a local person, someone who knows the area, the community and the people within it, and I’m trying to be that local champion and that’s why I’m standing, to be that local champion for the people of Alyn and Deeside.

“Now there’s many reasons behind this, but one big one is the community.

“The community itself has been through some real tough times over the years and dad was always there to help them as best as he could.

“Now, during our toughest time as a family, the community was outstanding for us, and you’ve seen that over the last four or five weeks and again at the funeral, so I want to repay them for the support and love offered but also build on the great hard work my dad did for the people here, to continue that.”

Jack, who went through an engineering apprenticeship and onto university before working supporting the automotive industry at a site on Deeside Industrial Park, said the move into politics would have “potentially” been a consideration but “definitely not at this time” had circumstances been different.

He said deciding to run had been the culmination of “a long process of thinking and discussions with close family really, which they support.”

He added: “This is something none of us predicted and it’s a huge decision for me to make but it is one that I’m committed to.

“I only came up with the decision that I want to do this on Friday because I didn’t want to rush into it, I wanted to make sure it was right for me, right for the family.

“Friday was the final decider but over the last two weeks there was more thinking about it and then certainly after the funeral and deciding ‘is this right?’ and I think it is right and it’s right for the people to support the people like they’ve supported us.”

Cllr Bernie Attridge, Mr Sargeant’s lifelong friend and former colleague on Connah’s Quay Town Council, said he would resign from the Labour Party and stand as an independent candidate if a “grassroots” member wasn’t chosen by the party.

Jack said speculation about a possible candidate hadn’t crossed his mind and was throwing his hat into the ring “to support those who have supported us during this tough time.”

He said: “The decision alone is based alone on the fact that I want dad’s legacy to continue.

“I want the hard work that he committed to this community to continue, because it was for the better, and it should carry on.

“That’s why I’ve decided to go ahead with this, to support those who’ve supported us during this tough time.”