TORFAEN'S very own Elvis tribute act has taken the title of Best Welsh Elvis for the third year running.

Darren 'Graceland' Jones, 42, is now aiming for bigger competitions after taking the title with his performance of Suspicious Minds.

He said: "I'm over the moon to win the title again as I'm the first to get it three years in a row."

Residents may already know him as the star from a Torfaen council promotional video on the work of the grit- ters.

He said: "The video was watched thousands of times by people from all over the world and it got me a lot of publicity"

Last year, Mr Jones was the Best Elvis 2013 runner-up at the world-famous Porthcawl Elvis Festival. He has set his sights on going one better this time around.

Talking about how it all started, he said: "When I went to comprehensive school, I had a quiff and one of the kids called me Elvis and then it stuck."

"I loved being the centre of attention and I was a show man, not that much has changed over the years."

After finishing at Croesyceiliog School, he held jobs in a butcher shop, a sports shop and on a construction site, before a five year stint in Corfu to pursue a DJ-ing career.

The turning point came in 2006 when Mr Jones was at a wedding and ended up performing on stage with the band.

He said: "I was asked later if I did Elvis as a profession and when I said I didn't, I was told that I should seriously consider it."

"So I went out, purchased a suit and performed for friends and family."

He then started performing for charity nights and began studying videos of Elvis so that he could improve.

Mr Jones works at Just Rollers in Cwmbran and rehearses when he gets home.

His favourite song to perform is Tomorrow Never Comes.