Caught drink driving in car he had bought to sell on

Lee Boyd (27), Mount Pleasant, Banbridge, admitted driving with excess alcohol in his breath on April 7 this year.

Last Thursday at Banbridge Magistrates Court he was fined £200 and banned from driving for 12 months.

For not having a vehicle test certificate he was fined £100 and ordered to pay a £15 offender’s levy while he was also fined £200 and banned for 12 months for not having insurance.

Fines of £20 were imposed for not displaying ‘L’ plates and driving unsupervised.

The court heard he was stopped by police at 7.40pm and checks revealed there was no insurance for the vehicle.

Boyd immediately admitted that he was not insured and that he had a provisional licence.

There were no ‘L’ plates displayed and he was not accompanied by a qualified driver.

Police noticed empty bottles of alcohol in the vehicle and could smell alcohol from the defendant’s breath.

He failed a roadside test and an evidential breath test gave a reading of 57.

A solicitor representing Boyd said he had bought this vehicle to sell on to make a small amount of profit.

He explained the defendant had consumed alcohol earlier in the day and foolishly made the decision to go and put fuel in the vehicle.

He only had the car for one week.