A 44-YEAR-OLD man from Carmarthenshire was tried for driving while under the influence of alcohol at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on February 11. Jason Lloyd had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing, and had said that it was in fact her sister, who was sober, who had been in the driving seat.

The prosecutor, Leslie Harbon, outlined the details of the offence. Jason Lloyd was said to have been driving a black Volvo between Tenby and St. Clears after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath (5.5 micrograms in 100ml of breath) exceeded the prescribed limit. The police received information that Lloyd had been drink driving, so they went to a Travelodge in St. Clears, where the client was, to speak with the defendant, who smelt of alcohol. According to two officer reports, and a sergeants report, Lloyd had admitted that he had been the driver several times. On the way to the station he had said: “If I get done for drink driving I’ll lose my job” and “I put my hands up, ‘cause I have done it. I had seven pints earlier on, then coke all night.” When Lloyd was interviewed, he gave a completely no comment interview.

For the defence, solicitor Mike Kelleher, while examining the defendant, emphasised the story from Lloyd’s point of view. He had been in Tenby with a group of friends, but the night turned sour. He was told that his best friend was trying it on with his wife, so there were arguments and everyone went home apart from Lloyd, his sister, and the partner of his best friend, Nicola. The three decided to go home as well. According to Lloyd, his sister drove because she had not been drinking due to a recent gall bladder operation. Lloyd said that when they were in the car, he received a phone call from his friend stating that the police were looking for him in regards to a separate charge. They stopped at the Travelodge in St. Clears. Nicola was hysterical and walk to the foyer of the hotel and Lloyd and his sister had an argument, and according to Lloyd, she walked off and he was left with the car in the car park. When the police officer arrived, Lloyd said that he knew he was going to be arrested anyway so he said that he had driven the car in order to protect Nicola and his sister from being arrested too. When asked about the comments he had made about being the driver on several occasions, he said he could not remember as his memory was not one hundred percent. There was no CCTV at the hotel.

The prosecutor covered many of the same questions as Kelleher but focussed on the fact that Lloyd said he could not remember making comments to the police, but he was sure that he had not driven the car. Harbon asked how he could know for sure that he had not driven, and he replied: “I saw my sister sitting at the side of me.”

Kelleher closed the examination by asking if Jason remembered who drove, to which he replied yes, and then asked if it was him who had been driving, and the defendant replied no.

Lloyd’s sister came into court as a witness and was warned that anything that she said in the court, as she had sworn on oath, had to be true or she would be prosecuted for perjury. Kelleher asked her if she understood the consequences of lying, and she said she did. He asked if she was there to lie for her brother, which, according to her, she was not. Lloyd’s sister told the same story Lloyd had.

Harbon asked if the siblings had spoken about coming to court, to which Lloyd’s sister replied yes. Although, she stated that they had not spoken about it at length when asked by the prosecutor. Harbon stated that she would have had every chance to get the story straight with her brother. The sister spoke about how she could not believe or understand why Lloyd had said that he had driven when it was his sister who had. Harbon responded by saying that she knew a lot about the case for someone who had not spoken at length about it. Harbon then closed her examination by asking if she and her brother were close, to which she replied yes. Then the prosecutor asked if she would do anything for her brother; she said she would, but also stated that she was not lying now.

The Magistrate asked where the key was when she had left, and she said that she had left it with Lloyd.

After some deliberation, the Magistrates returned to court and found Lloyd guilty of his offence. The Magistrate accepted the police’s accounts over the siblings’. Lloyd was fined £1,040 and he will have to pay £80 per month. He was disqualified from driving for 15 months, but will be able to reduce that by 5% by taking part in a drink driving rehabilitation course.