Driving ban for Wales rugby star after drunken golf buggy ride

Welsh international rugby player Andy Powell was today banned from driving for 15 months after admitting driving a golf buggy while unfit through drink after celebrating a famous victory. Powell, 28, was arrested at a motorway service station at junction 33 of the M4 hours after Wales had beaten Scotland with three late scores in a dramatic Six Nations clash. He was taken into custody with another man in the early hours of February 14 near the Wales team hotel in the Vale of Glamorgan. Powell's arrest and the subsequent publicity surrounding the incident led to the back row forward being dropped from the team the following day. Powell, who plays for Cardiff Blues, pleaded guilty when he made his first appearance at Cardiff magistrates court. The incident happened after Wales scored a try with the last move of their game against Scotland at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff after trailing by 10 points with just 10 minutes to go. There were wild celebrations in the Welsh capital, mirrored, it would appear, by Powell. Powell's lawyer, Conrad Gadd, said the player accepted he had been "foolish". Gadd said: "He is regretful that any young boy who may see him as a hero might think this behaviour is acceptable and he wants to make it plain that it isn't." As well as the 15-month ban, Powell was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 victims' surcharge.