A HOLYWELL man has been told to grow up after he admitted dangerous drink driving when he used his car to frighten a pedestrian.

Thomas Dale Boyes, of Bryn Mawr Road appeared at Mold Crown Court on Thursday.

The 29-year-old had previously admitted that on September 18 he drove dangerously on Rue St Gregoire in Holywell after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath exceeded the prescribed limit.

Paulinus Barnes, prosecuting, said that in the early hours of the morning, police received a report of a vehicle driving at people near Tesco.

CCTV operators saw the red Vauxhall Corsa, driven by Boyes.

He appeared to be involved in an "altercation" with a group of pedestrians, who were banging on the car.

Boyes drove off and could be seen turning into a road while one of the pedestrians in a pair of shorts stood in the middle of the road.

But then he came back and drove at the man in shorts, swerving into a bus bay as the man moved that way to safety.

Police saw the car heading towards Greenfield at speed but lost sight of it.

A short time later Boyes was spotted on foot and following a short chase, in which he turned to ask the pursuing officer "what are you doing?" he was restrained and arrested.

The Leader: Image provided by North Wales PoliceImage provided by North Wales Police

Boyes failed a roadside breath test and at Llay police station he gave a reading of 70 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - twice the legal limit.

Simon Mintz, defending, said: "It was very early in the morning and other than the bystanders, the place was deserted.

"It would be flattering to call them nothing more than innocent bystanders - there was a scuffle taking place and they were goading him, that's clear.

"If he had seriously intended to collide with the man in the shorts he'd have mounted the pavement.

"He was trying to frighten him and I am sure he did.

"It was an appalling bit of driving.

"The pre-sentence report is a very illuminating document. It shows a very vulnerable 29-year-old man who has experienced much hardship.

"From being put into care when he lived in Harrogate to four years which he described to me as a kind of modern slavery; he was taken to Aylesbury by a group of travellers and compelled to carry out menial work for them without an opportunity of escape, leaving him with mental health issues coupled with substance abuse issues which have continued to this day.

"His partner is in poor health and is due to give birth in November - he's very much her carer and she relies on him."

The Leader: Image: CPSImage: CPS

Judge Geraint Walters told Boyes: "For reasons the court has not been fully informed about, there appears to have been an altercation in the road between you in your car and a group of men determined, it seems, to cause trouble.

"Your big mistake was first of all being there in the car under the influence of alcohol. "Then having gone well away from the man in the shorts you came back - second big mistake of the night.

"It is very dangerous to be using a car as a weapon to threaten someone. "But your judgement was clearly clouded, largely because of the drink.

"You are a product of your upbringing, but you're not 14. You're 29 now and you're expecting the birth of your first child.

"You are going down today but you'll be out well before then.

"It's time to grow up."

Judge Walters handed Boyes an eight month custodial sentence for the dangerous driving and a two month concurrent sentence for drink-driving, making a total of eight months.

Boyes was banned from driving for a total of three years and four months.