A Neyland woman who failed to pay a £70 taxi fare has been fined in court.

Twenty-seven-year-old, Mellissa Eynon, of Hill Terrace, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday to admit the offence of making off without payment.

Prosecutor, Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told the court that at 2.30 am on May 26 last year, the defendant was discharged from Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest and called a taxi.

Ms. Eynon told the taxi driver to take her to Milford Haven via Pembroke to pick up a friend.

However, when the defendant got to her destination, she didn’t appear to have any means of paying, so she left some of her belongings in the taxi as a way of paying the driver.

The taxi driver then took the belongings to the police station.

When the defendant went to collect her belongings from the station, police asked her if she wanted to use a community resolution where three instalments would be made to pay the taxi fare, but Ms. Eynon refused.

Defence solicitor Mark Layton told the court that the facts were accepted by his client.

He said the defendant had been assaulted that night and discharged herself from hospital.

Mr. Layton explained that his client had thought that she had sufficient funds, but a standing order was made which blocked her bank account, which Ms. Eynon was unaware of, and as a result, she could not use her bank card.

Mr. Layton admitted that the defendant had not made any proper effort to pay the taxi fare and therefore she was guilty.

During sentence, the chairman of the bench said: “You’ve had the opportunity to deal with the matter and now you must pay the consequences of that.”

Magistrates fined the defendant £40 and ordered her to pay prosecution costs of £85, along with a victim surcharge of £30.

Ms. Eynon was also ordered to pay £70 in compensation to the taxi driver.