A fast food delivery driver has been handed a lengthy motoring ban after he was caught in his vehicle over the alcohol limit.
Sixty-year-old Ian Leslie Holmes, of Bartletts Well Road, Sageston, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday, to admit a charge of driving his Peugeot 308 in Tenby after exceeding the prescribed limit.
Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told the court that police officers made a routine stop check after midnight on March 31 in Tenby with officers smelling intoxicants from Mr. Holmes’s vehicle when he was pulled over on the Marsh Road.
The court heard how the defendant had two previous convictions for drink-driving dating back to 2006.
On this occasion after his arrest, he gave a reading of 51 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
Defence solicitor Gareth Waite told the court that Mr. Holmes had just finished his shift working as a delivery driver for Dominos pizza in Tenby.
He explained how the defendant had decanted vodka into a half a bottle in his car.
“He thought he would be under the legal limit to drive. He had only travelled less than a mile from where he left his work.
“Mr. Holmes is very sorry for what happened, and fully co-operated with police.
“He has just started a new job as a warehouse manager in Whitland, but it is 16 miles from his home, so a driving disqualification will affect him getting to work. He also has a 16 years old daughter that lives with him and is dependent on him,” added Mr. Waite.
Magistrates disqualified Mr. Holmes from driving for 15 months and fined him £310 for the offence.
He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £31 victim surcharge.