A Tenby man found in possession of cannabis admitted the offence when he appeared in court this week.

Thirty-three-year-old Neil Bateman, of Newell Hill, pleaded guilty to possessing 1.07 grammes of herbal cannabis when he appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates on Tuesday.

“Police officers saw the defendant driving his vehicle in Prendergast with no front number plate, and when they stopped him they could smell cannabis,” prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told the court.

Mr. Bateman’s solicitor, Mr. Mark Layton, said that his client, a self-employed plasterer, wasn’t actually smoking the cannabis in the car. “There is no suggestion that he was under the influence whilst driving,” he explained.

Magistrates fined the defendant £135 for the offence and ordered him to pay costs of £85, a court charge of £180 and a £20 victim surcharge.