A motorist arrested in Narberth on suspicion of drink-driving was so intoxicated that he fell backwards into a police officer, a court has heard.

Forty-six-year-old Andrew Karl Thomas of Crackwell Caravan Site, Penally appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday to admit the offences of driving under the influence and having no insurance.

Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told the court that police were called by members of the public to the CK store car park in Narberth on October 29, after they suspected that there may have been a drink-driver.

When the police arrived, they found Mr. Thomas in the driving seat of a vehicle, with his breath smelling of alcohol.

After leaving his Citroen, the defendant was unsteady on his feet and at one point, fell backwards into a police officer.

The usual procedure was carried out and Mr. Thomas was arrested after he failed a roadside breath test.

Once he arrived at the Police Station, the defendant gave an evidential sample of 66 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, nearly twice the legal limit.

During the police interview, the defendant said he had driven to the CK store from Templeton to buy some stuff from the shop.

He also admitted that he had drunk three glasses of wine from 1 pm before being arrested at 6 pm that evening.

Mr. Pritchard-Jones added that there were many aggravating features in this case including an outward appearance of intoxication and the fact that the defendant had driven whilst drunk from Templeton.

The court also heard that if the police hadn’t stopped Mr. Thomas then he would have driven back to Templeton which was another aggravating feature.

Magistrates were told that the defendant had two previous convictions both for drink-driving.

Defence solicitor David Elvy told the court that his client should have know better and made a miscalculation by some margin.

He added that the defendant thought he was okay to drive but was clearly wrong and now had to accept the consequences.

Regarding the no insurance offence, Mr. Elvy said the defendant went phoning looking for quotes to get a cheaper deal.

However, when he went back to his insurance provider, they told the defendant that he was covered but that he hadn’t paid for the rollover so he wasn’t insured.

Mr. Elvy concluded his remarks by saying he hoped that his client had learnt his lesson.

Magistrates fined Mr. Thomas £120 each for both offences and ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £85 along with a £32 victim surcharge.

The defendant was also handed a 25 month driving ban along with six points on his license.

Mr. Thomas was also denied the chance to complete a drink-drive aware course because he had already done one previously.

After the hearing, Mr. Pritchard-Jones warned the defendant that he would not get his license handed back to him automatically after the disqualification period because he had now been convicted of drink-driving three times.

He said the DVLA would need to check him medically to make sure he wasn’t an alcoholic.

“I’m doing this for your own protection,” Mr. Pritchard-Jones told Mr. Thomas.