Natalie McNally murder trial: FonaCAB driver tells trial he took customer from Lurgan to Lisburn on night mum-to-be was killed

Stephen McCullagh, aged 36, from Woodland Gardens, Lisburn, is accused of and denies Ms McNally’s murder.

The FonaCAB driver recalled driving along Carnegie Street and picking up a fare outside Fa Joe's bar, Lurgan.

Asked by Mr MacCreanor where his customer was, he replied: "I believe he came from standing by the entrance to the pub. He was alone.

"He got into the passenger seat. I didn't recognise him as a regular customer."

The fare was picked up at 10.46pm and the drop off time was at 11.13pm.

The taxi driver said the only thing he recalled was he was worried the fare would fall off the seat as he was a "big person”.

He remembered the customer had a bag which he put down by his feet in the footwell.

The witness said the customer asked him to take him to Lisburn and to use the Moira / Lisburn Road as the best route.

"He had said that his mother was unwell and the conversation was that everything had been left for him to sort out. He was sort of annoyed that he had to go to Lisburn to sort this out."

He confirmed he didn't know where the 'end stop' was for the fare and just followed the directions from his customer.

The witness recalled making a couple of wrong turns.

He said the journey came to an end when the customer said that this was the address and he pulled up on the left side of the street beside a hedge and behind it was a small bungalow.

Asked to describe the hedge, the driver said: "I think I recall it being very high and I was unable to see the bungalow.

"The customer said he hoped the family had money to pay for this (fare). He left the car, went into the entrance and came back with the money."

The driver said the passenger left his bag in the footwell and some customers do that as a sign they are coming back with the money and then retrieve the bag.

"He came back after a couple of minutes. I would say no more than five minutes, probably."

He recalled he was paid in cash, adding that normally a trip from Lurgan to Lisburn at that time would have been around £20.

The witness said the customer retrieved his bag and went into the bungalow where he had pulled up and stopped his taxi.

Asked to describe his customer's manner during the trip, he replied: "He was very polite but there were a couple of points when I made a wrong turn and the customer got a little anxious and irate and said: 'You went the wrong way. It's OK. A lot of people that make that mistake'."

Under cross examination from defence counsel John Kearney KC, the witness confirmed he could not be accurate that the drop off time was 11.13 pm.

In a statement from a FonaCAB IT manager, the court heard the fare picked up outside Fa Joe's had been dropped off at Woodside Gardens, Lisburn, according to the vehicle's GPS system.

At hearing