AN EGLWYSWRW pensioner has been jailed after breaching a court restraining order the day he was released from prison.

Within hours of returning to his home on March 26 following his release from custody, Gerald Phillips, 74, once again attempted to contact his former girlfriend by phone.  The order had been imposed by Swansea Crown Court following his conviction of harassing the female.

“The day he was released from prison, he tried to make contact with the complainant,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.  “She’d blocked his number, but after using the 147 facility, she could see that the defendant’s number had come up.”

Ms Vaughan told magistrates that this is the second breach of the order committed by Gerald Phillips.

Meanwhile probation officer Julie Norman asked for an immediate custodial sentence to be imposed on Philips.

“He was released on March 26, and that was when the offence was committed,” she said.  “I ask for an immediate custodial sentence, because of the risks he presents  to the community.”

But Phillips’ solicitor, Tom Lloyd, requested leniency from the magistrates given the defendant’s acute deafness and what Mr Lloyd described as  his ‘significant vulnerabilities’.

“I’m concerned he may have other issues that have yet to be properly explored,” he said.  “No direct contact was made to the complainant, there was no violence, and the breach wasn’t sustained.”

Mr Lloyd went on to say that Phillips is currently  living an isolated existence at his home in Neuadd Wen, Eglwyswrw, and has no family members who are able to support him.

“His parents have passed away, he has no siblings to assist with his care and he doesn’t have any children,” concluded Mr Lloyd.  “He’s  very lonely and the problems are compounded by the issues that he has.”

Phillips was sentenced to eight weeks in prison, half of which will be served in custody and the remainder spent  on licence following his release.  He will subsequently be supervised by the probation service  for 12 months.  He was ordered to pay a £154 court surcharge and £85 costs.

A PEMBROKESHIRE chef has been ordered off the roads after being caught driving home from work after consuming cannabis.

A drugs wipe was carried out on Daniel Coles just after midnight on December 10 after police officers observed him driving his Vauxhall from his workplace in Narberth to his home in Garden Meadows Park, Tenby.

“There was a small of cannabis emanating from the vehicle,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

When the drugs wipe proved positive, Coles, 25, was conveyed to the police station where further blood tests were carried out. These confirmed that Coles had 11 mcg of Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in his system. The legal limit is 2.

After pleading guilty to the drug-driving offence, he was legally represented by solicitor, Tom Lloyd who said that at the time of the offence, the defendant was employed as a chef in Narberth.

“He had no other way of getting home that night, and so he decided to drive,” he said. “But his job is now in jeopardy as it’s going to be virtually impossible for him to work those anti-social hours without transport.”

Coles was disqualified from driving for 12 months. He was fined £246 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £98 court surcharge.

A COURT granted a restraining order to a woman,  despite her not being the victim of the original crime.

The request for the order was made to Haverfordwest magistrates on Tuesday when James Britton appeared via a video link from Cardiff Prison.

Last month Britton, of Coronation Avenue, Haverfordwest, was  convicted of assaulting a 72-year-old cancer victim.  Following the hearing, he was sentenced to 52 weeks in custody. 

This week the victim’s daughter, urged magistrates to impose a restraining order preventing him from having any contact with her following his release.

“I saw this horrific attack on my dad after he forced his way into my house, and I’d be really thankful if I could get some protection,” she said in an email submitted to the Crown Prosecution.  “He’s put us through hell for long enough.

“We’re not together and haven’t been since 2023, and I just want to keep my little family safe.

“But what we have now is nothing but harassment, blackmail and intimidation.  At the moment we’re just existing, waiting for him to do something again.  It’s not fair that we have to live like this.”

But solicitor Tom Lloyd stressed that Britton, of Coronation Avenue, Haverfordwest,  is the father of the woman’s child.

“He has every legal entitlement to see his child and what she says is untrue,” he said. 

“He hasn’t blackmailed her in any way and as the child’s father, he has parental rights.”

After considering the facts, magistrates granted Ms Parsley’s request. 

“We believe it’s necessary and proportionate,” commented the presiding magistrate.

The order will prevent Britton from contacting Cara Parsley directly or indirectly and from entering Winch Crescent, Haverfordwest. 

The order will continue for two years.

“I think you’ve made the wrong decision,” commented James Britton on hearing the magistrates’ decision.  “But I accept it.”