An agricultural worker who believed he fell asleep at the wheel before getting involved in a tractor crash along the A483 has been sentenced in court.

Philip Allman, 37, was verbally and physically resistant towards police when they tried to work out what had happened following the collision between Four Crosses and Arddleen on December 10 last year.

Welshpool Magistrates' Court heard that he told a passenger to lie to police that she had been driving.

Allman later told police that he had drank two pints at the Punchbowl in Llandrinio but twice refused to give a sample of his breath for testing whether he was over the alcohol limit.

He was disqualified from driving for 33 months and sentenced to a 12-month community order after pleading guilty on the day of his trial for failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

Prosecutor Helen Tench told the court on Tuesday, July 23, that police found Allman was standing in the road refusing to identify himself following the collision involving a John Deere tractor, telling officers that he had not been driving.

Allman was unsteady on his feet and smelt of alcohol before he was arrested and taken to the police station where he refused to do breath tests.

He later told police that he was driving home when he "possibly drifted to sleep", and was then in a "state of panic making excuses by not helping anyone" when police arrived at the scene.

Allman said that he again panicked when he told his passenger to lie to police that she had been driving. He claimed that he couldn't provide a breath sample because his chest was hurting.

Magistrates were told that Allman had two drink driving convictions which happened more than 10 years ago.

Alcohol support

If you're worried about your own or someone else's drinking, you can call this free helpline in complete confidence:

Drinkline on 0300 123 1110

Weekdays from 9am to 8pm and weekends from 11am to 4pm.

Robert Hanratty told the court that his client was “effectively made homeless” after losing his job and thrown out of his accommodation at The Maesddy between Arddleen and Pool Quay following the incident.

The solicitor said: “The defendant is a very anxious man as he appears before you.

"It was a slow speed collision. He was in a state of confusion then whisked off to Newtown police station where he complained that he wasn’t feeling well. He told officers that he thought he had a medical reason. He was taken to hospital complaining of chest pain.

"Mr Allman is quite a vulnerable individual and very keen to put things right for his partner and future child."

A pre-sentence report read by probation officer Teri Dunham shared that Allman believed he "felt fine to drive" after drinking two pints at the pub. The 37-year-old explained that he had been travelling "a lot at the time" visiting family and believes he fell asleep at the wheel.

Ms Dunham continued: "He is remorseful for his actions. At first, he was horrified that a collision occurred and the harm it could cause to other people.

"He recognises that used alcohol to manage life’s stresses and he uses alcohol as a coping mechanism.

"His thinking skills around driving may have been led by his anxiety at the time."

The probation officer added that Allman told her that his previous convictions happened when he was "young, naive and stupid".

Magistrates decided to impose a 12-month community order with 15 rehabilitation days and 160 hours of unpaid work.

Allman, of Belvedere Avenue, Shrewsbury, must pay £500 court costs after pleading guilty on the day of his trial, and a £114 victim surcharge.