Police have issued a warning over drink driving after two students were prosecuted for being over the limit.
Samantha Gudsell, 23, of Bryn Road, Brynmill, a Development and Human Rights master’s student had been out with her friends in Swansea city centre and had taken a taxi back to their house on June 13.

After changing into her pyjamas, she realised her car was parked illegally on yellow lines. Worried she would receive a ticket, she got behind the wheel whilst drunk to move the car.

She went to move it 200 yards up the road into a legal spot, her solicitor Nick Devonald explained.

Police officers spotted a girl driving in pyjamas and became suspicious. Gudsell was then stopped on Finsbury Terrace around 4am.

The officers were concerned Gudsell had been drinking and conducted a roadside breath test and was found to have 79 micrograms in 100 millilitres of breath. This is over twice the legal limit of 35 micrograms.

Swansea City Magistrates Court banned Gudsell from driving for 17 months and fined her £175, including costs and victim surcharge.

In a separate incident, final year student Anna Louise Smith had been drinking at the summer ball was later arrested after trying to move her friend’s car in a prank.

The nursing student was stopped on Marlborough Road when police officers patrolling Brynmill became suspicious of the vehicle as it was driving with full beam headlights on.

Ms Smith blew 60 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, almost twice the 35 microgram legal limit.

Swansea City Magistrates Court banned Smith for driving for 12 months and imposed a £150 fine.

The Students’ Union, who run the summer ball, said on the incident: “The Students’ Union do not in any way condone drink driving and advise all students to adhere to the law.”

In a third separate incident, Catherine Bell, 49, was given a 4 month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months after being caught three times over the legal limit after being stopped between the University and St. Helens cricket ground. As Bell had just had her driving license reinstated after finishing a previous driving ban, Swansea Magistrates Court added a 44 month driving ban to the sentence.

Drink driving in Wales accounts for one in four road fatalities. Last month, a student from Swansea Metropolitan University was killed and one seriously injured when a 39-year-old man lost control of his vehicle whilst drunk and struck three students.

South Wales Police superintendent Steve Furnham, upon launching the summer drink driving campaign said: “Every year police have to deliver the devastating news to families after someone has been killed on the road as a result of driving under the influence of drink or drugs.

“These deaths are avoidable if drivers simply make the decision not to drink and drive, or make alternative arrangements to get home from summertime events.

“Do not be afraid to stop someone at your barbecue getting into their car if they have been drinking and want to drive.”

The University said in a statement: “The University has a duty of care to all its students, and pursuant to this duty and in accordance with the Student Charter, students are obliged to notify the University if they receive any criminal cautions or convictions during their studies – which would be considered under the University’s Disciplinary Procedures.”