A Brawdy soldier faces disciplinary action after being convicted this week of drink-driving.

Calls were made to the police just after midnight on July 16, 2023 that a black BMW had crashed directly opposite to the barracks at Brawdy which is situated on the main A487 Haverfordwest to St David's roads.

“It was half in a field and half in a hedge,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest magistrates earlier this week.

Ms Vaughan went on to say that the member of the public who had witnessed the crash then saw the driver get out of the vehicle and run away.

The driver was apprehended by the police upon their arrival at the scene and was identified as soldier Harry Bedworth, 23, who is currently stationed at the Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy.

A roadside breath test proved positive and Bedworth was taken to the police custody suite at Haverfordwest police station where he gave further intoximeter tests. These showed that he had 83mcg of alcohol in his system. The legal limit is 35.

Bedworth, of Dawley, Telford, pleaded guilty to the charge of drink-driving. He was legally represented in court by solicitor Michael Kelleher.

“My client is now going to be punished by this court but also by the military,” he said.

“This will range from a reduction in his rank to terminating his service which will take place after today’s hearing.”

Bedworth was accompanied in court by an army officer who took notes throughout the hearing.

“In the meantime, my client will be placed in a large unit rather than a small unit where he won’t be expected to drive,” added Mr Kelleher.

After retiring for approximately ten minutes to consider their verdict, the presiding magistrate made reference to the ‘aggravating facts’ in the case.

“There was a crash, but you also left the scene of the accident,” he said. “These are aggravating factors.”

Bedworth was fined £500 and ordered to pay a £200 victim surcharge and £85 court costs. He was disqualified from driving for 20 months.

The former RAF base at Brawdy was transferred to the British Army in 1995 when it became the Cawdor Barracks housing the 14 Signals Regiment, which is the army’s electronic warfare unit.

MP Stephen Crabb previously described the soldiers who are based at Brawdy as being ‘at the cutting edge’ of electronic warfare, and an increasingly important aspect of 21st century combat.

They have been used extensively on operations including those in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and numerous other locations where their activities will never be reported on or discussed openly.

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