FORMER County Councillor Paul Dowson – who says he has an £80 per week ‘speed’ habit – has admitted possession of 12g of amphetamine.

Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard on Tuesday (May 17) that police attended his home in July last year, gaining entry with a warrant.

Dowson, then a serving councillor admitted there were drugs in his home, with the offending powder being found in his kitchen.

He was fined £80 and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a surcharge of £34.

The drugs were placed under a destruction order. Dowson has 28 days to pay the outstanding fine to the court.

Dowson stood to represent the Bush Ward in the recent local elections held on May 5, despite having committed the offence. He lost his seat after coming last in the poll. His electoral chances would not have been helped by leaflets sent to every home saying that Dowson was a racist.

Dowson told the Herald he is considering legal action over the leaflets saying they broke electoral law.

A BANNED driver who caused a multi-vehicle pile-up on the A40 on Saturday (May 14) said in court on Monday that he had no recollection of what happened.

Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard that Matthew Turner, of Llys-yr Onnen, Wolfscastle was seen by witnesses driving extremely fast that morning, as he drove from Haverfordwest towards his home village.

Turner, age 33, pleaded guilty dangerous driving and to three additional charges of driving without insurance, driving whilst disqualified and possessing 1g of cannabis. An additional charge of the aggravated taking of a vehicle without the owner’s consent was withdrawn.

The court heard that as he flew past Vincent Davies department store in his girlfriend’s Ford EcoSport, the driver of the vehicle travelling behind him watched him cross over the middle white lines in the road repeatedly, and said he was overtaking vehicles dangerously.

He hit an on-coming vehicle, spun around, and smashed into another vehicle just a little further up the road.

The accident caused the main road to be closed for several hours, causing traffic chaos on the back lanes around the area.

The CPS solicitor, Mr Davies, said that the driver of one of the vehicles which had been hit said that “it was as if an explosion had gone off.”

The defendant who works as a painter and decorator, managed to stumble out of his partner’s wrecked car and said to witnesses: “My wife has gone to check the kids. It’s just an accident. These things just happen.”

Representing the defendant, Mr Michael Kelleher said his client has “no real recollection” of what happened.

“Quite clearly this matter is a serious one and we’re quite fortunate there are no serious or lasting injuries as a result of this incident” he added.

The matter was then adjourned for a pre-sentence report from the Probation Service.

Turner, who broke down and was in tears during the hearing, was released on conditional bail, the conditions being that he resides at his parents’ address in Haverfordwest and that he makes no contact with his partner.

An interim driving disqualification has also been imposed.

A MILFORD HAVEN man has been ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service after he admitted losing control of a dog, which went on to seriously injure a toddler.

Stephen George, 48, of Howarth Close was in charge of a border collie called Roxie when the dog was off its lead. On May 30, 2021, the dog jumped over a garden wall and knocked a two-year-old boy to the floor and started biting his face.

The identify of the boy is protected by a court order.

The boy’s father was there in moments and got between his son and the dog, receiving bites to his thumb and index finger in the process. He picked up his boy, whose face was covered in blood – and an ambulance was called.

He said that the other kids thought his son was dead.
The court heard that examination of the boy’s injuries revealed a deep gash to the forehead, and a year later the wound has healed but left a ‘Harry Potter’ type scar on the boy’s forehead. The most serious wound was to the side of the head, where the dog had bitten through to the bone.

The court also heard that the toddler, now 3, fears noises such as fire alarms following the incident. He is hesitant to play in the sandpit, the court heard. There had also been a disruption to the boy’s sleeping patters because of the incident, is father said in a victim impact statement.

He added: “None of the children want to go out and play in the street anymore – the kids think dogs kill babies.”

The father told The Herald that medics had said that the dog bites had been “one centimetre from killing his son.”

Speaking for George, defence solicitor Mike Kelleher said that his client could not apologise enough. He said that the dog had been a pet which had grown up around kids on the estate and there had never been any problems like this before.
“My client is living with the thought every day that if he had kept the dog on the lead then this would never have happened.”

Mr Kelleher added: “He cannot apologise enough.”
“He thought that the dog should have been allowed to run along free briefly but mulling it over now he things it should have been on the lead.
“To the credit of the boy’s father he remains friends with Mr. George and is present in court today.
“Mr. George has not got any previous convictions and is very remorseful.
“The dog is not his, it belongs to his wife. My client is a farm labourer who works three days per week. He works only three days a week because he has a twelve-year-old son who has autism,
“His wages are topped up with state benefits.”

Mr Kelleher said that his client was not a wealthy man, but the victim’s father could apply for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority as Mr. George is guilty of the offence.
Mr Kelleher said that his client could serve a community sentence “as long as it did not interfere with his difficult family commitments”, he said.
After a brief period of deliberation, the two-man justices bench decided on sentence.
The chairman of the bench told George that he would have to serve 120 hours of community service, pay £1000 compensation for the injuries to the 2-year-old boy and pay £85 costs and £95 victim’s surcharge.
A payment order was made for £12 per fortnight.