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Crime

Man with ‘profound fear of needles’ refused to provide blood sample

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A MOTORIST who suffers from a profound fear of needles has been sentenced by magistrates for refusing to provide a blood sample following a positive roadside drugs swipe.

Jamie Christopher was arrested by officers on the A477 Kilgetty roundabout on October 23 after providing a positive drugs swipe for cocaine. The swipe was carried out during a routine police stop check.

Christopher, of Dewing Avenue, Manorbier, was subsequently taken to a police custody suite where he was asked to give two samples of blood for further analysis. But Crown Prosecutor Kelly Rivers told magistrates that he declined.

Christopher, 47, was represented in court by Mr Tom Lloyd who informed magistrates.

that his client had previously denied the charge.

“He has issues with a fear of needles and an expert report states this explicitly,” he said.

“But that expert report wasn’t available on the day of the prosecution [January 25] and so the trial proceeded. This means that that expert evidence still wasn’t heard.”

Christopher, a father of three, was found guilty of failing to provide a specimen for analysis and re-appeared before magistrates this week for sentencing.

After considering the facts, magistrates sentenced Christopher to a 12-month community order during which he must carry out ten rehabilitation activity requirement days. He was fined £120 and ordered to pay a total of £620 in costs, as the case had gone to trial. He was also ordered to pay a £114 court surcharge. He was disqualified from driving for 17 months.

 

Crime

Driver sentenced for cannabis offences on Cleddau Bridge and in Wolverhampton

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A WOLVERHAMPTON motorist has been disqualified from driving after admitting two separate cannabis-driving offences, including one on the Cleddau Bridge.

Doel Lyons appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (July 23), where he pleaded guilty to both charges.

The first offence took place on December 22, 2025, when Lyons drove a Honda Civic along the A477 Cleddau Bridge at Pembroke Dock.

A blood test showed seven micrograms of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, per litre of blood.

The second offence occurred on March 30 this year, when Lyons drove the same Honda Civic along Tithe Croft in Wolverhampton with cannabis in his blood above the legal limit.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month driving disqualification for each offence and fined Lyons £233 on each charge.

He was also ordered to pay £85 in prosecution costs in relation to each conviction.

The court register does not specify whether the two periods of disqualification are to run concurrently.

Separate allegations that Lyons drove another vehicle while over the cannabis limit and without insurance in Staffordshire in September 2025 remain outstanding.

No pleas have been entered to those charges, which were adjourned for a plea hearing at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court on July 29.

 

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Crime

Pembrokeshire teenager given referral order after shoplifting spree

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A PEMBROKESHIRE teenager has been given a 12-month referral order after admitting a string of shop thefts and damaging a police vehicle.

The youth appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (July 23), where guilty pleas were entered to 11 theft offences committed between April and June.

The offences involved shops in Haverfordwest, Milford Haven and Neyland, with alcohol targeted in the majority of the incidents.

Items stolen included BuzzBall alcoholic drinks, vodka, cans of Red Bull, crisps, chewing gum and a sandwich.

The court heard that several of the thefts took place at retail parks in Haverfordwest and Milford Haven, while others occurred at stores in Neyland and Milford Haven town centre.

The individual also admitted causing £180 worth of damage to a Dyfed-Powys Police vehicle in Neyland on June 26.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month referral order, which will require the teenager to work with the Pembrokeshire Youth Offending Team and comply with a contract agreed with a youth offender panel.

Compensation totalling £336.77 was ordered in relation to the stolen property and damage to the police vehicle. The teenager’s guilty pleas were taken into account.

The court imposed reporting restrictions under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. Nothing may be published which could identify the youth.

 

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Crime

Murder investigation launched into death of Pembrokeshire man in 1991

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A 67-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after new potential evidence emerged in connection with a death more than three decades ago.

Dyfed-Powys Police have launched a murder investigation into the death of 58-year-old Bentley Mathias, who died in hospital in 1991.

Mr Mathias died at Morriston Hospital on November 19, 1991, with his cause of death recorded at the time as a brain haemorrhage.

His death was not initially treated as suspicious. However, police said new potential evidence had since come to light, prompting the case to be investigated as a murder enquiry.

On Wednesday, July 22, officers arrested a 67-year-old man from the Llandewi Velfrey area of Pembrokeshire on suspicion of murder.

He has since been released on police bail while enquiries continue.

Dyfed-Powys Police said officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation.

The enquiry remains ongoing.

 

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