A NEWTOWN man has admitted drink driving and being in possession of a blade in a public place.

Piotr Pazdzior, 42, of Ceiriog, Newtown, pleaded guilty to both offences when he appeared at Welshpool Magistrates Court.

Helen Tench, prosecuting, said that on February 23, officers received a call from Pazdzior's ex-wife who suspected he had been drinking and gone out in his vehicle.

His car was located in the Glanmule area, facing the wrong way on the road, and although it was stationary, as soon as officers approached, Pazdzior drove away.

When he was stopped officers could smell a strong scent of alcohol and at the station Pazdzior gave a reading of 93 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Pazdzior's vehicle had been causing an obstruction and an officer noticed there was a knife in the passenger footwell. When asked about the blade Pazdzior said he had been using it to retrieve coins that had fallen down the side of the car, forgotten about it, and forgotten to take it home.

Rob Hanratty, defending, said Pazdzior, who works in the kitchen of a takeaway restaurant, had struggled to come to terms with the breakdown of his marriage.

He said: "He acknowledges he was significantly over the limit. He had been using the blade to get the coins, thrown it on the floor of the passenger footwell.

"Technically he is in possession but it was never going to be used."

Susan Usmar, chair of the magistrates bench sentenced Pazdzior to a community order for both offences.

He will undertake 80 hours of unpaid work and the knife will be destroyed. Pazdzior has also been banned from driving for 23 months. He will also pay £85 court costs and a £95 victim surcharge.