A PEMBROKESHIRE man has been sentenced after admitting to brandishing a baseball bat at a person he suspected of drug dealing in his neighbourhood.

Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard this week that James Hunt, 39, had become increasingly concerned about alleged drug-related activity on the Mount Estate in Milford Haven.

On April 3, police received a call reporting that a man had been seen on Cherry Tree Close holding what was initially believed to be a sledgehammer. When officers arrived, Hunt informed them the weapon was in fact a baseball bat.

“The officers said the defendant had been having ongoing issues with males riding electric bikes around the estate,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told the court. “So on April 3, he went out with his baseball bat to tell them to get off their bikes.”

The account was supported by Hunt’s solicitor, Fenn Richards, who said her client was on his way home from a 12-hour shift when he was nearly knocked over by one of the bikers.

“He’d seen the supply of drugs on the estate where he lives and believed the individual on the bike was linked to this anti-social behaviour,” she said.

“The defendant has become very concerned about the drug activity and acted on impulse. He intended to damage the bike, not harm the individual.”

Richards added that Hunt now regrets his actions.

“He realises that matters could have escalated that day,” she said. “But he maintains that the individual’s behaviour was morally wrong and posed a risk to the public.”

Hunt, of Larch Road, Milford Haven, pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon in a public place. He was handed an 18-month community order, including 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 80 hours of unpaid work.

He must also pay a £114 court surcharge and £85 in costs. A forfeiture and destruction order was issued for the baseball bat.

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A 19-YEAR-OLD motorist has been banned from driving after admitting to being over the legal drink-drive limit while behind the wheel in Milford Haven town centre.

Police were called to Hamilton Terrace in the early hours of April 5, following a 999 call from a concerned member of the public. On arrival, officers found Chanel Balmont in the driver’s seat of a Fiat 500.

“The car had pulled over, and one passenger inside the vehicle appeared to have an injury,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week.

“When the defendant was asked if she’d been drinking, she said she wasn’t going to lie and had no intention of denying anything.”

A roadside breath test revealed Balmont, of Waterloo Road, Hakin, had 52 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

She pleaded guilty to drink-driving and was represented in court by solicitor Fenn Richards.

“She had gone out with her friends, and their intention was to get a taxi home,” said Ms Richards. “They called one, but due to her partner’s level of intoxication, they were refused. To make it easier to get home, the defendant decided to drive. She simply wanted her partner to get home safely. She knows it was a mistake.”

Magistrates disqualified Balmont from driving for 12 months. She was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 in costs and a £48 court surcharge.

A DANGEROUS driver who caused a woman’s death has been jailed again after he was caught behind the wheel in Ceredigion on four separate occasions – despite being banned from driving for ten years.

Alexander May, aged 36, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week after being spotted driving a dumper truck at various locations across the county.

The court heard that May was disqualified from driving in December 2017 after a jury at Salisbury Crown Court found him guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. During that trial, it was revealed that May’s BMW had ploughed into a nurse who had just finished a shift at Savernake Hospital in Swindon. The woman died at the scene. He was sentenced to six years in prison and banned from driving for ten years.

Despite the lengthy disqualification, CCTV footage showed May driving a dumper truck on four occasions between March 8 and April 21 this year.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of driving while disqualified and four counts of driving without insurance.

“He has no excuse for what he’s done – it was pure stupidity,” said his solicitor, Fenn Richards.

Richards told the court that May, a father-of-five, had moved with his wife from Wiltshire to Devil’s Bridge to give their children access to better education. He said May’s primary concern was whether he would receive an immediate custodial sentence, given his “unique personal circumstances and caring responsibilities.”

May was sentenced to 24 weeks in custody. A further 18 months was added to his current driving disqualification, meaning he is now banned for an additional 53 months. He was also ordered to pay a £187 surcharge and £85 in costs.

“You were driving a very large vehicle while carrying children in the car, possibly for reward,” said the presiding magistrate. “And possibly this vehicle had been acquired during your disqualification.”