A Milford motorist has been handed a lengthy driving ban after admitting getting behind the wheel of his car drunk.

Sixty-four-year-old Gerald Harteveld, of Brooke Avenue, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday to plead guilty to driving his Kia Venga, after exceeding the prescribed limit of alcohol.

Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told the court that on May 22, the defendant had been drinking at a pub near his home, before taking the decision to drive home.

“In a police interview, Mr. Harteveld admitted that it was a stupid decision as he could have walked the distance.

“He was clearly under the influence, and almost made it home, but on Brooke Avenue he drove into the back of a parked car, which shunted it into another car, and passed out at the wheel!

“Neighbours heard the smash and found the defendant slumped in his seat with the engine still running. As the doors were locked, one of the neighbours took a golf club and smashed the back window to get access to the vehicle to turn the ignition off,” continued Mr. Pritchard-Jones.

Ambulance personnel treated Mr. Harteveld at the scene for minor injuries before he was arrested and taken to the police station where he gave a reading of 90 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

Defence solicitor Katy Hanson told magistrates that her client was ‘extremely embarrassed’ to be before the court.

“This was clearly out of character, and Mr. Harteveld can’t understand why he took the decision to drive such a short distance,” she said.

Magistrates disqualified the defendant from driving for 26 months and fined him £335 for the offence.

Mr. Harteveled was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £34 victim surcharge.