A false reading on a home breathalyser kit cost a Milford man his licence and the new job he had been celebrating the night before, a court has heard.

Miroslaw Idzik, 53, of Waterloo Road, Milford Haven, pleaded guilty to drink-driving when he appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates on Tuesday, September 19.

The court heard that police stopped Idzik’s Citroen Saxo on the Bulford Road bypass at 11.30am on September 3, after receiving a report about a suspected drunk driver in the Haverfordwest area.

Officers could smell alcohol when they spoke to him and he told them he had been drinking the previous day.

Idzik, who had no previous convictions, was later found to have 56mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, the legal limit is 35mg.

Jonathan Webb, defending, told the court that Idzik, a carpenter, had been celebrating getting a new job by drinking whisky at a friend’s house the previous evening.

Mr Webb said: “Mr Idzik does not drink-drive, and does not go anywhere near his vehicle the next day. His friend happened to have a breathalyser kit, he used it, thought that he was under the limit, and he was not.”

“Unfortunately the machine was faulty or miss-read.”

Mr Webb added that Idzik would now lose his new job, and would struggle as a result of a driving ban.

“It’s a one-off, he is not a habitual drink-driver. He moved over to this country seeking to better himself and work.

“It was a faulty over-the-counter breathalyser, a warning to everyone you could say.”

Magistrates fined Idzik £135 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £30 surcharge.

He was banned from driving for 12 months.