A PUBGOER was caught drink-driving after crashing on a night out to Tier 1 Herefordshire from locked-down Wales, a court has heard.

Callum John Gait, of Treneol, Aberdare, admitted the offence when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford on January 20.

Police had been on patrol on the A49 in Hereford at 4.30am on December 20 when they came across a large amount of debris including a numberplate on the Starting Gate roundabout, prosecutor Ralph Robyns Landricombe said.

They found a damaged car parked up in the nearby B&Q car park and Gait, who had been sat in the car, was arrested after failing a roadside breath test. An evidential test in custody revealed he had 84 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

"In interview he said he had driven from Aberdare with a friend the day before to socialise with friends in Hereford as the county was in Tier 1," Mr Robyns Landricombe said.

The court heard Gait, who had booked a room at the Premier Inn, had driven into Hereford to go drinking that evening, but claimed he could not remember which pubs he had visited.

"He had four or five pints of lager and said this was a normal amount for him and that he did not feel drunk," Mr Robyns Landricombe said.

Gait had then driven back to the Premier Inn before again venturing into the city centre to "look around the town" before again returning to the hotel.

But at around 2am Gait decided to go for a drive alone.

"He said that within five minutes there was something wrong with his car and that he had hit something, so he pulled over in the carpark" Mr Robyns Landricombe said.

MORE COURT NEWS:

Chris Read, for Gait, said the 25-year-old's memory of the evening was "a bit hazy."

"He had gone to sleep at the hotel but then woke up and decided to go out and see if there was anywhere open for food in the early hours," he said.

"He then had an accident with railings at the roundabout and drove to the nearest safe spot, where police found him on the phone asking a friend what to do."

The court heard Gait had recently been offered a job in care after volunteering in his community, but that losing his licence would mean he would no longer be able to take up the offer.

Gait was disqualified from driving for 20 months and fined £200. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge.