A woman who was observed re-positioning her car despite a two-year disqualification for drink-driving was this week sentenced for flouting the ban on three separate occasions.
“You were told very clearly not to drive your car,” Haverfordwest magistrates told Alena Harries when she appeared in the dock earlier this week.
The first offence took place on March 1 when the neighbour observed Harries, 37, driving a Ford Tourneo on a public road adjacent to her home address at Vineyard Vale in Wooden, near Saundersfoot. She was seen driving the car from her driveway and parking it on the road nearby. This blatantly flouted a 24-month disqualification imposed by magistrates in January 2023 for a drink-driving offence. As a result, she was un-insured to drive the vehicle.
The following day, March 2, the neighbour saw her get behind the wheel yet again, this time in an Audi A3, and repeat the previous day’s manoeuvre.
The final offence took place on February 27 when she was seen getting into the Audi A3, drive away from her property, and return approximately 30 seconds later from a different direction. She then parked the car in her driveway.
This week Alena Harries pleaded guilty to three charges of driving whilst disqualified, and three charges of using a motor vehicle on a road without third party insurance.
She was represented in court by Mr Mike Kelleher who informed magistrates that Harries had moved the cars in order that her partner could drive their second vehicle to school to pick up their children.
“Her partner needed to get his vehicle out of the drive,” he said, “so she moved the other vehicle a short distance.”
Mr Kelleher went on to stress that the distance travelled by Harries on each of the three occasions was extremely short.
“Normally people who are disqualified are seen driving long distances, but this was no distance at all,” he said.
“Nobody, apart from the neighbour, appears to have been inconvenienced by what she was doing.”
Harries was sentenced to eight weeks in custody suspended for 12 months. She was disqualified for 27 months and ordered to pay a £154 court surcharge and £85 costs.
