Judge tells solicitor to phone banned driver and tell him to ‘get off tractor’

On April 11 last year, Ethan Nelson (22), of Kilrea Road, Upperlands, failed to produce a licence to police and a BMW had a defective tyre at Main Street, Portglenone.

He also admitted using a BMW without insurance at Braidwater Retail Park in Ballymena on April 24 last year.

A defence lawyer told Ballymena Magistrates Court on Thursday (July 7) that the defendant thought his insurance renewed automatically.

She said the defective tyre was caused after he “hit a pothole”.

The court was told the defendant, “who helps his father around the farm,” already had six penalty points on his licence.

The defendant was banned from driving for a month and fined £525.

The lawyer told the court: “When I was speaking to him this morning he actually was out in a tractor. Can I ask that the disqualification doesn’t take effect until I get notice to him?”

District Judge Nigel Broderick said if the solicitor had told him that at the start of the case he could have adjourned it.

The judge added: “He is now disqualified so you better ring him quickly and tell him to get off the tractor”.