Police officer had to 'run' to avoid being struck by van at 'stinger' checkpoint
A police officer had to run out of way to avoid being struck by a motorist at a 'stinger' checkpoint in County Antrim.
Details were given as Stephen McBride (34), of Grange Meadows in Grange near Toomebridge, pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving.
Ballymena Magistrates Court was told that police set up a vehicle checkpoint with a 'stinger' device - it can deflate vehicle tyres - at Clooney Road near Ahoghill in relation to a report of another motorist.
A number of other motorists approached the checkpoint and stopped accordingly. At 10.10pm on August 9 last year the defendant approached the checkpoint in a Caddy van and, according to a prosecutor, slowed to a near stop and then picked up speed.
The officers were "easily visible" in uniform standing beside a marked police car. A torch was shone in the direction of the van. An officer was standing in the middle of the road.
The engine revved and the van "accelerated towards the police officer forcing him to run off road quickly to avoid being struck".
Despite the vehicle driving over the stinger device it continued to drive on for a time. The defendant had no previous record.
A defence lawyer said that police had been waiting for a different motorist. He said the defendant's driving had been "abysmal".
McBride was given an interim driving ban and his case was adjourned to October 9 for a pre-sentence report.