A 53-year-old Pembroke man has been banned from the roads for a year for refusing to provide a sample of blood for analysis.

Appearing in Magistrates’ Court this morning, Malcolm Symonds admitted the offence which took place in Pembroke on Saturday.

The Crown accepted his plea and offered no evidence on the alternative charge of driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs.

But Symonds also pleaded guilty to driving without a licence and making false statements to police on the same day.

The court heard that Symonds was stopped by police officers on Crow Lane and identified himself as Mervin Symonds.

However, a background check revealed that he had given a false name and that there was a warrant out for his arrest.

As the officers were speaking to Symonds, they noticed the smell of alcohol on his breath.

When asked if he had been drinking, he said he’d had two drinks but insisted that he was not drunk.

He was taken to Hamilton Police Station where he refused to provide a sample for analysis.

Magistrate Tyrone Chin fined Symonds $300 for making false statements and $150 for driving without a licence, as well as seven demerit points.

Mr Chin fined Symonds another $1,000 for refusing to provide a blood sample and disqualified him from driving for a year.

Symonds was given an extension on an unpaid fine for an impaired driving offence dating back to 2013.

In a separate matter, 39-year-old Tio Smith, of Southampton, was fined $1,000 after he admitted driving while disqualified.

The Crown accepted his plea and offered no evidence on a second charge of driving without due care and attention.

Prosecutor Maria Sofianos told the court that the defendant had been attempting to park his car on Reid Street, near the junction with Burnaby Street, on November 25 last year.

As he was reversing, he collided with a light truck that was behind him, scratching the bumper.

Smith then drove off, but was later seen walking towards the driver’s side of the car by a police officer.

Background checks determined that he had previously been disqualified from driving.

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