A 35-YEAR-OLD carer and mother of two from Fishguard has been given a suspended prison sentence for driving whilst intoxicated, rolling her car on a country road, running from the scene, and then refusing to give a sample of breath at the police station.
Zara Louise Delaney, of Smyth Street, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court last week (Mar 27) to plead guilty to one charge of refusing to provide a sample of breath without a reasonable excuse.
The CPS prosecutor told the court that on March 9, Delaney was driving between Letterston and Little Newcastle when she rolled her vehicle. Police passing found the vehicle on its roof, and a quick check showed that it was registered to her. Sometime later, the court heard, PC Reynolds located a female near a dirt track who was “covered in mud with no footwear, slurring, and clearly intoxicated.”
The lawyer added: “When asked for a roadside specimen she co-operated and blew 118 – but once in the police station she became uncooperative and refused to give a sample of breath.
Stacey Holmes of Goldstones Solicitors, defending, said: “My client had a stressful day on the day of the incident. She works as a mobile carer and her employer was short staffed. She had made 15 calls that day, and she was exhausted and drained. As the court heard she initially complied by giving the breath sample at the roadside, but when she got to the police station she simply panicked – this was a new environment.”
“She understands the serious matter before the court. Her personal circumstances are that my client has two daughters. She is a sole carer but still managing to work for her employer, Pembrokeshire Care, doing 49 calls a week.”
Ms Holmes added: “She suffers from depression, and has been for the last five years.”
Following a period of adjournment for a probation report to be completed the court reconvened.
Chairman of the bench, David Simpson, told Delaney that the offence had crossed the custody threshold due to the high level of intoxication and deliberate refusal to provide a sample.
Nevertheless, the bench decided to impose a 12 weeks prison sentence suspended for 12 months.
The main thrust of the punishment is that the busy carer was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work as part of a 12 months community order.
She will avoid jail if she keeps out of trouble for a year.
Delaney was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 29 months, ordered to pay the CPS £85, and told to pay £115 into the victim services fund.