A drunk driver who mowed down a cyclist in the centre of Pembroke Dock and then drove away has been jailed for 12 months today (Friday).

Michael Coleman, aged 47, admitted dangerous driving and a third offence of driving with excess alcohol in his blood.

Dean Pulling, prosecuting, told Swansea crown court how 51 year-old Dennis James had been cycling home from work along Bush Street on September 23.

He passed a Volkswagen van by the side of the road and made eye contact with the driver.

The van began to move and about 300 yards further down the road Mr James was hit from behind and slammed into a parked car, suffering bruises, cuts and a punctured foot caused by one of the wheel spokes.

Mr Pulling said although Mr James had been wearing high visibility clothing Coleman had driven into him “as if he had not been there.”

Coleman drove on but police discovered the collision had been filmed by CCTV cameras outside the Bush Tavern and were soon able to trace Coleman to his home in Myrtle Grove, Cresselly.

Officers were able to question him within 35 minutes of the crash. At first Coleman claimed not to be the owner of the van but later confessed.

But he maintained he had not realised that he had hit Mr James.

A breath test showed he was twice the legal drink drive limit.

Mr Pulling said it was Coleman’s third conviction for drink driving and he was also in breach of a suspended prison sentence imposed for violence.

The court heard that Mr James had been too traumatised by the incident to resume cycling.

The judge, Mr Recorder John Philpotts, said it was astonishing that Mr James had not suffered far more serious injuries and that Coleman was lucky not to be facing an even more serious charge.

He said it was a serious case of dangerous driving and Coleman’s failure to realise he had hit the cyclist was probably down to the amount of alcohol he had drunk.

And his record for drink driving aggravated his situation, added the judge.

Coleman was jailed for 12 months and banned from driving for three years. He was also ordered to take an extended driving test before getting his licence back and to pay a government surcharge.