A Milford Haven man was more than double the drink-drive limit when he took to the road after falling off the wagon, a court has heard.

David John Guy, of Blackbridge Drive, pleaded guilty to drink-driving while over the legal alcohol limit when he appeared at Haverfordwest magistrates court on Tuesday, December 31.

Sian Vaughan, prosecuting, said police stopped Guy, 43, after following his Ford Transit for a short distance on the A4076 at Johnston in the early hours of December 15.

“Officers stopped the vehicle and spoke to him, they suspected he had been drinking.”

Guy confirmed he had consumed approximately three quarters of a bottle of wine at home before getting into his van.

He was found to have 84mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, more than double the legal limit of 35mg.

The bench heard he had a previous similar conviction in 2015.

Mike Kelleher, defending, said Guy was stopped as part as a routine check, and there had been no suggestion of bad driving.

“He cooperated fully with the police, there was no prevarication on his part.”

Mr Kelleher added that Guy had struggled with alcoholism for several years.

“He had received extremely bad personal news the day before. He had spent almost the entirety of the year not drinking. To use a much-overused expression, he fell off the wagon.

“He should not have driven in that condition.”

The court was told that father-of-four Guy had experienced difficulties seeing his children following the break-down of his relationship.

“He was as low as he possibly could be, as a result he resorted to alcohol.”

Mr Kelleher said Guy expressed ‘extreme sorrow’ for what had happened.

“He realises he should not have been driving, worse could have happened and thank goodness it did not.”

Following a report from the probation service, magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work and banned Guy from driving for 44 months.

He was ordered to pay £207 in costs and a surcharge and will complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

The chairman of the bench said: “Obviously you have an issue with alcohol. It was a very foolish thing to do that night, it was very fortunate that the consequences were not a lot worse. It could have been a terrible risk to somebody.”