A man from Fishguard who woke up drunk on a woman’s sofa in his boxer shorts and vest and claimed he was her son has been given a conditional discharge in court.
Forty-three-year-old Swanny McCarrthy, of West Street, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday, to admit a charge of criminal damage, caused at a property in Windy Hall, Fishguard.
Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told the court that the incident occurred on August 26.
“The complainant woke up in the morning and found the defendant asleep on her settee under a blanket! She was distressed and surprised. Mr. McCarthy was wearing just his boxer shorts and a vest. She tapped him on his shoulder and asked him what he was doing and he said ‘I am your son’, but clearly he is not her son,” he said.
When the police arrived, the defendant did not cause any problems, and told officers that he didn’t remember what happened, aside from going to The Glendower Hotel and having a few whiskies before waking up on the sofa.
“Mr. McCarthy said that he did not know how he got into the property, and the strange thing was that he didn’t know where his clothes were,” explained Mr. Pritchard-Jones.
“The home owner discovered that the door of her garage had been smashed open, and various items had been disturbed and damaged, including plates, a bike, lights, a home speaker set, and a Sky remote control, with the estimated damage caused to be £398.
“Underneath the mess in the garage, Mr. McCarthy’s camouflage trousers, size 9 trainers and socks were found.”
In a statement given to the police the defendant said that he had consumed three pints of Guinness and three whiskies at The Glendower Hotel. He said that he fully accepted causing the damage but had not intention of stealing anything.
“The police accept that it wasn’t an aborted burglary, and simply a case of someone getting hopelessly drunk and doing this. Who knows what was going through his mind!” continued Mr. Pritchard-Jones, adding that Mr. McCarthy had previous convictions in record but nothing since 1996, apart from a caution last year for criminal damage.
Defence solicitor Mike Kelleher said that his client wished to apologise sincerely to the complainant.
“He knows how frightening it must have been for her to wake up and find someone she didn’t know fast asleep on the sofa.
“Mr. McCarthy has been back to The Glendower and found out that he had drunk more than he initially thought. It had been too late to get a taxi home that night, so he walked. His jacket was found the following day in Fishguard containing his wallet.
“This matter has embarrassed him so much that he is considering leaving the area,” added Mr. Kelleher.
Magistrates gave Mr. McCarthy a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £398 compensation to the victim.
He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.