A man who travelled over to Pembroke Dock from Ireland to purchase a recovery truck has been charged with drink-driving in court.
Conor Martin McLaughlin of Omeath, County Louth, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Courts on Tuesday, after being arrested the previous day for drink driving, after giving a reading of 87 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, when his vehicle was stopped shortly after 2 pm.
Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told the court that the defendant accepted that he’d consumed alcohol when pulled over by police, and even joked with officers that he may ‘blow the thing up’ when referring to being breathalysed, as he’d been drinking all weekend.
Defence solicitor Anthony O’Connell told the court that Mr. McLaughlin’s perceived humour at the time of being stopped by police was inappropriate, but he had not been drinking on that day.
“He came over from Ireland with a view to purchasing a recovery truck. He’d had drinks at the hotel hew was staying at, and the following day he was on his way back to the ferry when he was pulled over. He thought he’d be ok to drive, but clearly be wasn’t,” he explained.
Magistrates disqualified Mr. McLaughlin from driving for 18 months and handed him a fine of £165 for the offence. He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.
Magistrates told the defendant that they would impose an immediate term of imprisonment of 14 days, until he paid the money.