50-year-old stopped near car wash after Tesco staff raised concerns

A MILFORD HAVEN man has been disqualified from driving after being convicted of his sixth drink-driving offence.

Stephen Jonathan, 50, was spotted by police officers driving his Mercedes A-Class near the car wash in Milford Haven.

Haverfordwest magistrates heard that on the afternoon of Friday (Mar 7), staff at Tesco became concerned about his behaviour.

“He’d gone into the store to buy alcohol but they refused to serve him, knowing he was under the influence,” said Crown Prosecutor Nia James.

“They alerted the police who saw him driving at the nearby car wash.”

A subsequent breathalyser test showed Jonathan had 50 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

The court was told Jonathan has a history of similar offences, including two previous failures to provide breath specimens and five drink-driving convictions, the most recent in 2019.

Jonathan, of Wellington Road, Hakin, pleaded guilty to driving whilst unfit through drink.

Representing him, Fenn Richards said he had consumed one can of alcohol that afternoon but had also been using large amounts of mouthwash following recent dental implant work.

“It’s possible this could have had an impact on his reading,” she said.

“But he didn’t think he was going to be over the limit on this occasion.”

Jonathan was disqualified from driving for 38 months. He was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £48 surcharge.

49-year-old found hiding beer can with breath reading over three times the legal limit

A ROSEMARKET motorist has been banned from driving after being found in charge of her vehicle while unfit through drink.

Haverfordwest magistrates heard that at around 10:00pm on Saturday (Mar 1), police were alerted by staff at the Johnston garage to a Toyota Aygo that had been driven away from the premises. Subsequent checks confirmed the vehicle was registered to Julie Askew, 49, of The Chantry, West Street, Rosemarket.

Officers travelled along an unclassified road towards Johnston, where they discovered the vehicle parked in a pull-in on Church Road.

“They also saw the defendant, Julie Askew, hiding a can of Bud beer between the seats,” said Crown Prosecutor Nia James.

A roadside breath test produced a reading of 114 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Askew pleaded guilty to being in charge of a vehicle while unfit through drink.

Representing her, Fenn Richards told the court that the defendant had pulled over to go for a walk with her partner.

“This has been a significant wake-up call for her, and she hasn’t consumed alcohol since,” she said.

“She has suffered significantly over the past five years as a result of a severely traumatic period in her life, which has led to a decline in her mental health. She has consumed alcohol as a coping mechanism.

“She’s greatly affected by what’s happened over the past five years and has lost a lot of confidence. She’s worked all her life but now, for the first time, finds herself on universal credit. She’s extremely ashamed to be in this situation today.”

Askew was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £48 surcharge. Her licence was endorsed with ten penalty points.

21-year-old tested over cannabis limit after being stopped for not wearing seatbelt

A NARBERTH motorist has been disqualified from driving after being caught behind the wheel after consuming cannabis.

Ethan Williams, 21, was stopped by on-duty police officers while driving his Volkswagen Golf along Jesse Road, Narberth, just after 9:30am on Thursday, November 7.

“The officer’s attention was initially drawn by the fact that he wasn’t wearing a seat belt,” Crown Prosecutor Nia James told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

Subsequent checks revealed that Williams’s vehicle was not covered by third party insurance, while a roadside drugs swipe tested positive. Further blood analysis showed he had 7 micrograms of Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in his system. The legal limit is 2.

Williams, of Rhywoga, Clynderwen, pleaded guilty to drug-driving and using a vehicle without third party insurance.

He was represented by Fenn Richards, who told magistrates the defendant smoked cannabis “quite regularly” after losing both his mother and his grandfather.

“He used cannabis as a coping mechanism,” she said.

“But he’s now working on reducing his cannabis intake, to the point where he didn’t believe he’d be over the limit on the day of the offence.”

Williams was disqualified from driving for 12 months. He was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £48 surcharge.