Ranting alcoholic put under curfew (From South Wales Guardian)

Ranting alcoholic put under curfew

1:20pm Friday 7th September 2012 in Ammanford news

A 49-YEAR-OLD Garnant alcoholic, already subject to an anti-social behaviour order due to his drinking, has been placed under a night-time curfew.

David Robert Prosser, of 40 Maes y Fron, was spotted by a policeman drunkenly ranting and swearing while on the phone at the public kiosk outside the Half Moon pub at 3.45pm on August 2.

Prosecutor Gerald Neave told Llanellimagistrates it was clear Prosser had been drinking.

“He was shouting and swearing and was unsteady on his feet,” said Mr Neave.

“He was being rude and disorderly.”

Prosser left the phone box and made his way along Ceidrim Road, but when confronted he admitted he was drunk.

“He apologised to the officer and pleaded with him to be let off,” said Mr Neave.

However, Prosser was arrested.

Mr Neave described how Prosser had been made the subject of an open-ended anti-social behaviour order in February 2006.

Debbie Thomas, for Prosser, told the court that her client had had a long-standing battle with alcohol. “He is an alcoholic and has been drink-dependant for more than 20 years,” said Ms Thomas.

She described how Prosser had used the telephone to contact the housing department of Carmarthenshire county council to complain that he was receiving debt recovery letters addressed to a former tenant of his local authority-owned home.

“He had not been in a pub, but had been drinking at home,” she said.

“He had used the phone to ask the council to get the debt recovery agency to update its database and to stop them sending him letters.”

She confirmed that Prosser had been guilty of breaching the order in 2006, 2007 and 2012.

She told the court that Prosser admitted breaching his order.

Magistrates sentenced Prosser to a 12-month community order with a two-month night-time curfewforbidding him to leave his home between 7pm and 6.30am.

He was also ordered to pay £85 court costs.