A motorist who overturned his car in the centre of the main road that runs through Marloes has appeared before magistrates charged with drink-driving.
Barry John, 35, was driving his Ford Fiesta through Gay Lane Terrace on the night of November 20 when he lost control of the vehicle. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered the car lying on its roof and the defendant standing nearby.
“The car was on its roofs in the centre of the carriageway,” Crown Prosecutor Kelly Rivers told Haverfordwest magistrates earlier this week.
“The defendant told officers that he’d managed to climb out, but they could see that his eyes were glazed, he smelt of alcohol and his speech was slurred.”
As officers waited for an ambulance to convey John to hospital, they carried out a roadside breath test which proved positive. Further blood tests showed that he had 110mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80.
Ms Rivers went on to say that during his police interview, John admitted to drinking three pints of alcohol prior to driving his car.
John, of Lower Broadmoor, Talbenny, pleaded guilty to the charge of drinking and driving.
He was represented in court by Fenn Richards.
“The reason he’d driven that night was because he’d previously parked his car in the same area overnight and its tyres were slashed,” she said. “Naturally he was concerned that this would happen again.
Ms Richards said that John regretted his decision to drive that night but ‘there was no excuse for his behaviour’.
John was fined £394 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £158 surcharge. He was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
