A Milford man who pranged a lamp-post with his car before hitting a gritting lorry has pleaded guilty to drink-driving in court.
Twenty-eight-year-old Matthew Grant Salter-Jones, of Woodbine Way, Hakin, admitted a charge of driving his Audi A4 after exceeding the prescribed limit of alcohol, when he appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Abul Hussain told the court that it was the afternoon of Friday, March 2, when police officers received a call from a witness who saw the incident on Victoria Hill in Milford Haven.
“Mr. Salter-Jones had hit a lamp-post before colliding into the rear of a gritting lorry. Officers spoke to the witness and identified the vehicle,” he said.
The defendant was breathalysed at the roadside, which proved positive, and after his arrest gave a reading of 66 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath at the police station.
Defence solicitor Mark Layton told the court that the facts of the case were fully accepted and that Mr. Salter-Jones had made a full admission to police officers at the scene. He said that his client lives in Milford, but works on a farm at Llawhaden, so losing his driving licence would have an impact on him.
Magistrates disqualified Mr. Salter-Jones from driving for 17 months and fined him £200 for the offence.
“This was a very foolish thing to do, and if the gritters were out that day, then obviously it was a very slippy-slidey road that you were on!” chief magistrate David Simpson told the defendant.
Mr. Salter-Jones was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.