A CONSTRUCTION supervisor was so desperate to flee an alleged attacker who had accosted him inside a Haverfordwest pub that he drove his car from the pub car park despite being over the drink-drive limit.

This week Haverfordwest court heard how Gary Newell drove his black Kia Ceed out of The Bull Inn car park in Prendergast with the passenger door open.  As he proceeded to drive down Church Lane, he was seen to collide with several vehicles, including a Nisson, a Vauxhall Insignia and a Ford transit van.

“He then abandoned the scene and fled,” Crown Prosecutor Linda Baker told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“Police received multiple calls in relation to his driving and to the fact that he’d collided with other vehicles.”

Officers eventually tracked Newell, 35, down to St David’s Church where he was arrested and charged with drink-driving.

Newell, of Linnet Close, Bristol, pleaded guilty to a charge.

“There was an incident inside the pub and a person followed the defendant out and tried to get into his car,” said his solicitor, Michael Kelleher.  “He’d already received cuts and bruises and was in a blind panic to get away from the situation.”

Mr Kelleher said that Newell was subsequently taken by officers to Withybush Hospital where he received treatment for his injuries.

“He remained on a drip and was put on temazepam,” added Mr Kelleher.

“After this incident he moved away to Bristol to get away from the problems here.”

Mr Kelleher said that Newell is currently employed as a supervisor for a construction firm.

Newell was disqualified from driving for a total of 14 months.  He was fined £800 and ordered to pay a £320 surcharge and £85 costs.

A MOTHER-of-two who ‘took a chance’ by driving on cocaine despite being disqualified for a previous drug-drive conviction has been ordered off the roads for four years.

Appearing before Haverfordwest magistrates this week was 42-year-old Donna Jones who pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle when she was over the specified drug limit on cocaine and the cocaine derivative, benzoylecgonine.

She admitted additional charges of driving whilst disqualified and of using a vehicle without third party insurance.

Police officers saw Jones driving a Renault Clio through Narberth just before 11pm on November 10, 2023. When they stopped the vehicle, they noticed a strong smell of cannabis emanating from the  interior of the car.

“Checks carried out by the officers showed that the defendant had been disqualified from driving until April 2025,” said Crown Prosecutor Linda Baker.

“Her previous convictions took place in 2018 and 2022.”

Meanwhile probation officer Julie Norman told the magistrates that on November 10, Jones had travelled to Pembrokeshire from her home in Belvedere Avenue, Carmarthen,  to attend her god-daughter’s funeral.

“After the funeral she went back to the family home in Preseli and although she wasn’t drinking alcohol, she took some cocaine,” she said.

“She then drove back from Preseli to Carmarthen but she got lost and ended up in Narberth.  That’s where the police found her.  That day, she just took a chance.”

Jones was sentenced to 20 weeks in custody, suspended for 12 months.  She must also carry out 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days,  She was banned from driving for a total of 48 months and must pay a £154 surcharge and £85 costs.

A TRIP to Barcelona ended in disaster for Pembroke Dock resident Lee Taylor after returning to Bristol airport to discover that his EE mobile phone connection had failed.

As a result, Taylor was forced to spend the night in the city’s central bus station.

“This was an extremely frightening experience,” his solicitor, David James, told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“He didn’t have the means by which he could pay for a hotel because everything was done on his phone, so he had to spend the night sleeping in the central bus station.

“There were a lot of very scary people around him and it was all very unsettling.”

When Taylor eventually returned to his home in Stranraer Road, Pembroke Dock, he heard his neighbours creating a disturbance outside his property.

“He was sleep deprived, as a result of the previous 48 hours, and when he heard the noise, he went outside and started shouting.”

Crown Prosecutor Linda Baker informed the court that the shouting commenced just before midday on April 24.

“The defendant was talking aggressively and making threats of violence,” she said. “Members of the public had contacted the police, reporting that the defendant had been making threats of violence towards them. It was also thought that he had a knife in his pocket, although this was never found.”

Taylor pleaded guilty to a charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words and behaviour likely to cause harassment alarm and distress.

After considering the facts, magistrates granted him a conditional discharge for nine months. Taylor was ordered to pay a £26 court surcharge and £85 costs.