A CARMARTHENSHIRE driving instructor was four times over the limit on his way to a driving lesson.

Timothy Howells, aged 54, of Burry Port Carmarthenshire has been given an 8 week custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months following his arrest on suspicion of drink driving.

At around 7:38am on Friday, February 20, police received a report of a single vehicle collision on the A484 between Pembrey to Kidwelly, where a car was found in a roadside ditch.

The driver, Timothy Howells, a local driving instructor, appeared heavily intoxicated to officers and provided an initial roadside breath test reading of 110 and was arrested on suspicion of drink driving.

A short time later while in custody, Howells provided a second evidential breath test reading of 132 – four times over the limit.

In interview, Howells admitted that when he was arrested by officers, he was on his way to collect a pupil for a driving lesson.

After appearing in Llanelli Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Howells has been given an 8 week custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months.

Chief Inspector Christina Fraser said: “Mr Howells was operating in a position of great trust and responsibility; Roads Policing officers have worked quickly in conjunction with colleagues, CPS and the DVSA, to ensure learner drivers and other road users have been safeguarded from an individual who presented a serious risk of harm.”

Previous convictions for similar offences revealed to court

A 57-YEAR-OLD man from St Dogmaels has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting multiple serious child sex offences.

Leof Sceaga appeared before Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday (Feb 26), where he was sentenced for possessing hundreds of indecent images of children as well as extreme pornographic material.

The court heard that Sceaga had 232 Category A images — the most serious classification — together with 331 Category B images and 366 Category C images in his possession. He also admitted possessing a number of extreme pornographic images.

While outlining the facts, the prosecutor told the court that Sceaga’s internet search history included terms such as “kiddie porn”, “pre-teen models” and “pedo kids centre webcam”.

The court was further told that Sceaga had previous convictions for similar offences, having appeared before Nottingham Crown Court in both 2012 and 2019.

In mitigation, Mr Griffiths, defending, said his client accepted that an immediate custodial sentence was inevitable.

His Honour Judge Geraint Walters sentenced Sceaga to 27 months’ imprisonment for possession of Category A images, 12 months for Category B images and three months for Category C images. He was also handed three months for possessing extreme pornographic images and a further three months for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

All sentences will run concurrently, resulting in a total custodial term of two-and-a-half years.

Woman assaulted and residents threatened during frightening street incident

A 26-YEAR-OLD man chased a neighbour through the streets of Pembroke Dock with a metal baseball bat after assaulting his partner during a drunken argument, a court has heard.

Marius Tanase, who had been drinking heavily, lashed out during a disturbance at Wavell Crescent on Wednesday (May 21) last year. Swansea Crown Court was told his behaviour that night was described as “erratic and frightening”.

Prosecutor Harry Dickens said Tanase grabbed his then girlfriend by the neck and lifted her off the ground during an argument at the property. Concerned neighbours intervened, shouting at him to stop.

Instead, Tanase spat at one neighbour and then chased another person “around the block” while carrying a metal baseball bat. The situation escalated further when the victim pushed him over a wall, after which he kicked her to the back of the head.

The court also heard that Tanase made threats that he would contact people to “kill and stab everybody”.

Police later arrested him near the Aldi store on the outskirts of Pembroke Dock.

Tanase admitted three counts of assault by beating.

In mitigation, defence barrister David Singh said Tanase had been struggling emotionally following the sudden death of his father, aged 44, from a heart attack. His father had brought the family to the UK, and the loss had affected him deeply.

The court was told Tanase turned to alcohol as a way of coping but had since stopped drinking and had engaged with support from the Dyfed Drug and Alcohol Service.

Mr Singh added that Tanase had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. He also expressed remorse for his actions, particularly towards his former partner.

Sentencing, Judge Catherine Richards told him: “Your behaviour that night was very erratic and frightening.”

Tanase, formerly of Pembroke Dock but now living in Cheltenham, was handed a two-year community order. The sentence includes 150 hours of unpaid work, a 20-day rehabilitation requirement, and a 120-day alcohol abstinence monitoring programme.