Buying cigarettes in the early hours of the morning proved costly for a Lamphey man.

Darren Shepherd, 38, of Flemish Court, pleaded guilty to drink driving when he appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates on Tuesday.

The court heard that a police officer had to brake to avoid Shepherd’s Mercedes as he switched lanes on the Merlin’s Bridge roundabout, Haverfordwest, at 2.30am on June 3.

He was stopped and found to have 40mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath when taken to the police station, the legal limit is 35mg.

Shepherd, who represented himself, told the court that he had drunk whiskey before going to bed because he felt unwell, and could not get back to sleep after waking at 1.30am because of his illness.

He said: “I decided to get some cigarettes, I thought I was ok. I jumped in the car and went to the garage. I was stopped on the way back.

“It was a genuine mistake, I thought I would be ok and I wasn’t.”

“I was going the scenic route back to pass the time because I could not get back to sleep.”

Shepherd was banned from driving for 12 months, and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £44 victim surcharge. He was fined £440.

The chairman of the bench said: “That was a very expensive packet of cigarettes.”