Drink driver drove lorry off edge of marina while two times over alcohol limit

Carl Hodson, 55 and from Whitchurch, was seen by a witness trying to reverse the lorry tractor while its wheels were spinning in mid-air at the marina at Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Haverfordwest Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday that a witness had reported seeing the Scania lorry cab crash through a barrier and come to a rest with some of its wheels suspended in the air, at about 11.40pm on November 18 last year.

The witness called the police late that night. It was his opinion that Hodson was drunk, the court heard.

Prosecutor Mrs Sian Vaughan said: "He observed the driver partially fall out of the cab, then climb back into the lorry. He saw the male start up the lorry and try to reverse but the wheels were spinning."

Hodson remained in the cab until the police arrived and he admitted to them that he had "had too much to drink", said Mrs Vaughan.

His blood was tested for substances and returned a reading of 175ml of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80ml of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

Hodson, previously of Darwin Court in Whitchurch, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to driving a motor vehicle while over the alcohol limit.

Hodson's defence advocate in court, Mr David Williams, said that the defendant, who was a professional lorry driver, was being "pursued" by the HMRC around the time of the offence.

He "accepts that what he did was... potentially extremely dangerous", said Mr Williams.

"It has caused him a great deal of shame, it has caused terrible anguish to his [family]."

He said that Hodson intends to move to Latvia to live and work there, and is already "personally responsible" for paying the "substantial" costs of repairs to the vehicle and at the docks.

The magistrates, chaired by Linda Harrison, handed down a £475 fine, a surcharge of £190 and prosecution costs of £85, meaning Hodson must pay £750 total.

He was also banned from the roads for 22 months, a ban which will also apply in Latvia.