Drink-driver banned after drifting through Newtown

Officers on mobile patrol saw the vehicle on Llanidloes Road, where it slowed and drifted at varying speeds before making a late turn into the Trehafren housing estate.

After stopping the vehicle in Lon Pinwydd, police detected a strong smell of alcohol when the driver, Ashley Thomas Lloyd, lowered the window. The 32-year-old failed a roadside breath test and was taken to custody.

Ashley Lloyd was sentenced at Welshpool Magistrates' Court (Image: Newsquest)

At the police station he provided a reading of 50 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeding the legal limit of 35mcg.

Lloyd pleaded guilty to drink driving when he appeared before Welshpool Magistrates’ Court on March 10.

In mitigation, solicitor Robert Hanratty said his client was “a bit surprised” to learn officers considered his driving “erratic”, explaining he was unfamiliar with the area and had simply made a late turn. “He drifted and slowed down and was actually supposed to turn at the furthest entrance,” he said.

Mr Hanratty told the court that Lloyd had been “a good pint over the limit” after doing a favour for a friend. “People can be naïve to do a favour to drop a friend off,” he said.

He added that losing a driving licence would be “a bit of a disaster” because Lloyd lives in a remote rural location, works as a self‑employed landscaper in a largely seasonal trade, and supports three children with another on the way.

Magistrates disqualified Lloyd, of Glyn Brochan, Llanidloes, from driving for 12 months. He was offered the chance to reduce the ban by three months by completing a drink‑drive awareness course. He must also pay £197 in fines and costs.

“Good luck with the new baby,” chair of the bench Rebecca Klug told him as he left the dock.