Former partner jailed in suspended sentence after travelling from Birmingham to Milford Haven

A WOMAN has told a court she lives in fear after seeing her former partner standing outside her home, despite him being banned from approaching her under a two-year non-molestation order.

Haverfordwest magistrates heard this week that the woman believed her ex-partner, Michael Walden, had been living in Birmingham since the order was imposed in July.

However, on December 15, footage from her Ring doorbell showed Walden standing outside her property in Milford Haven while she was collecting her children from school.

In a statement read to the court, the woman said: “I was very scared. I’m terrified of being in my own home, and I was feeling scared about taking the children to school the following day.”

The non-molestation order prohibited Walden from attending the woman’s address or making any direct or indirect contact with her.

Crown Prosecutor Ryan Colamazza said the woman’s fear was heightened by her belief that Walden had been residing in Birmingham following his previous court appearance.

But defence solicitor Mike Kelleher stressed that no direct contact had taken place.

“He was not there to make any sort of trouble or threats,” he said. “He just wanted to ensure that his children were well.

“There was no direct contact with the woman – he was simply seen on the Ring doorbell.”

The court also heard that when Walden was arrested, police discovered a quantity of cannabis in his possession.

Walden pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and breaching the non-molestation order.

Sentencing him, the presiding magistrate said: “The fact that this was pre-meditated and that you travelled down to Pembrokeshire from Birmingham, knowing you were prohibited from attending the woman’s address, crosses the custody threshold.”

Walden was sentenced to eight weeks in custody, suspended for 12 months. He was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £154 court surcharge. A forfeiture and destruction order was also imposed for the cannabis.

A Merlins Bridge man was more than four times over the legal drug-drive limit

A MERLINS BRIDGE motorist has been banned from the road after being caught driving with cocaine in his system.

Police officers stopped Paul Evans, 39, on June 8 as he drove along Clay Lane, Haverfordwest.

Haverfordwest magistrates heard this week that when officers spoke to Evans, he admitted smoking a cannabis joint the previous day. Blood tests later carried out at the police station showed he had 240 micrograms of benzoylecgonine — a cocaine metabolite — in his system. The legal limit is 50 micrograms.

A number of other drugs were also detected, although these were all below the legal threshold.

Further enquiries revealed that Evans was driving without third-party insurance and otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

Evans, of Fern Hill Road, Merlins Bridge, pleaded guilty to all three offences.

He was fined £200 and disqualified from driving for 17 months. He was also ordered to pay £85 in court costs and an £80 surcharge.

A magistrates’ court heard how alcohol misuse after a tragic bereavement led to the offence in Haverfordwest

A MAN who turned to alcohol after the death of his child has been given a conditional discharge after attempting to steal two gas canisters in Haverfordwest town centre.

Andrew Berrigan, aged 39, was arrested in September 2024 after trying to take the canisters, valued at £80, from a property at Winch Crescent.

Appearing before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week, Berrigan pleaded guilty to a single charge of attempted theft.

Mitigating, his solicitor Tom Lloyd said the offence came during a period of profound personal distress.

“This was a very silly and almost inexplicable offence,” he told the court. “Shortly beforehand, he and his partner lost their child, and things spiralled out of control. They were drinking to excess, and he cannot clearly remember what happened that day.”

Mr Lloyd added that Berrigan, of Princess Royal Way, Haverfordwest, has no previous convictions.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month conditional discharge. Berrigan was also ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £26 surcharge.