A BUS driver who was over the alcohol limit in the middle of the day drove through a red light dragging a car along the street, Swansea magistrates heard.

Clint Dudley Ghatt, of Lon Carreg Bica, Birchgrove, Swansea, had been drinking alcohol the night before the noon incident in the city centre.

He pleaded guilty to drink- driving and a separate charge of driving without due care and attention.

He had a reading of 98 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80.

Ghatt, 42, was driving the bus from Swansea Marina to the city centre when the accident took place at the junction of Dillwyn Street and Oxford Street on November 23 last year.

Depression

He had been driving passengers all morning.

His solicitor, John Allchurch, said: "He was in a stage of depression, his marriage had broken down and he turned to drink. He was on this day over the limit and there was an accident.

"He had not been drinking on the day of the incident."

"He should be credited for his early guilty plea."

Probation officer Joanne Steadman said that the father of one had been going through a difficult period after the collapse of his marriage.

She said: "He found himself losing employment because of the offence and he has been struggling to pay his rent.

"He says he has been drinking excessively and he is in receipt of anti-depressants from his doctor."

Shaken

Ghatt was given three months in prison suspended for 12 months. He was ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work and supervision for 12 months.

He was also disqualified from driving for a year.

District Judge, Vivian Manning-Davies, said: "You drove an empty bus when you were one-and-a-half times over the limit.

"You went through a red light at a junction and collided with a vehicle that was going the other way.

"The collision resulted in the vehicle being dragged up the street which required the fire service to release the young female, a Miss Treharne, from the car."

The woman was shaken but not seriously injured, the court heard.

The Judge said he had to consider Ghatt's level of drunkenness at 12.30pm and that he went through a red light in the middle of Swansea, the consequences to the driver and her car and the effect it had on the whole community as the fire, police and ambulance had to be called.

He added: "You are aged 42, a man of clean character.

"I think it is sad to see you before this court. The worst thing you can do when you are lonely, depressed and separated is to turn to drink.

"I hope you can turn your life around."

Ghatt apologised for his actions. A spokesman for South Wales Transport (Neath) Limited said Ghatt had worked for the company for around six months.

He said: "He was instantly dismissed after failing the breathalyser and we have fully co-operated with the police and traffic emissions office. The company is now in the process of installing testing mechanisms for all its staff on a daily basis."

The spokesman added that the bus was in service at the time of the collision.

But he added: "There were no passengers on the bus at the time of the incident."

laura.davies@swwmedia.co.uk