Cookstown teacher driving Mercedes caught for speeding

Marian Tomasina O’Neill (48) from Loran Way in Cookstown was also fined £150 with a £15 offender levy.

Prosecuting counsel at Dungannon Magistrates Court said that on September 2 last year at 8am, police detected a Mercedes car travelling at 83mph, 23mph in excess of permitted limit.

A defence solicitor said the defendant, who has been driving for 32 years, “was sitting on nine penalty points”.

Pleading for leniency, the lawyer explained the defendant is teacher with autistic children and that involved her clocking up miles across the country.

He said this should have made her more conscious of the speed she was travelling at on this occasion.

District Judge Michael Ranaghan said the given the defendant’s very special role and impact it would have on others if she was disqualified for a lengthy period, he would keep the disqualification to one week.