MAGISTRATES have banned a Powys man from driving for two years after he found to have been driving with nearly three times the legal amount of alcohol in his system.
Gareth Powell, 42, was stopped driving an Isuzu VRM just outside Brecon on June 21. Police who stopped Powell arrested him after he provided a positive roadside breath test. The reading provided after Powell was stopped on Ffrwdgrech Road, Brecon, was 96 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeding the prescribed limit of 35 micrograms.
Powell, of Modrydd Farm, Libanus, pleaded guilty to drink driving when he appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates' Court on Friday, July 8.
Powell was ordered to pay a £320 fine by magistrates, who also ordered him to pay a £128 surcharge and £85 costs.
He was banned from driving for 24 months, but can reduce this by 24 weeks if he successfully completes a drink drive rehabilitation programme.
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