A VAGRANT who swore at passers-by and accosted cars in Sussex Square was so drunk he could not even remember being outside the Walcot shops, his lawyer said.

Gavin Laidlaw, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly and failing to surrender to a court hearing on August 7.

Prosecuting, Keith Ballinger said police had been called to Sussex Square on July 15 to reports Laidlaw had been shouting and swearing at shoppers, banging on shop windows and approaching cars.

Jonathan Lee, defending, told Swindon magistrates his client was homeless and regularly travelled across the country. “It would be wrong to describe him as living a chaotic lifestyle,” he said. “It’s a life characterised by inebriated homelessness.”

Mr Lee said the 42-year-old was an alcoholic and unlikely to change. He was “currently enjoying the hospitality of Cardiff”.

Labelling the case a sorry state of affairs, Hatty Stafford-Charles, chairman of the bench, fined Laidlaw £50 This was deemed paid by time served.