Dungannon man caught drink driving on his 60th birthday

John Boyd, 60, from Granville Terrace appeared at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

The court heard how police had received a report from a member of the public on August 26 alerting them to the fact that the defendant had consumed alcohol and was driving a car.

Police subsequently stopped Mr Boyd driving a red Seat Ibiza and detected a strong smell of alcohol within the car. After breathalysing the defendant, they found a reading of 64mcg of alcohol.

According to his defence solicitor the offence happened on the morning of the defendant’s 60th birthday. He had been drinking the night before, and was driving to purchase more alcohol when he was stopped by police.

The solicitor added that Mr Boyd, who had a clean 40-year driving record, had suffered from anxiety and depression after witnessing a traumatic incident at work involving a colleague. He accepted that he had a problem with alcohol.

District Judge John Meehan said it was unfortunate to see such a long driving record blemished in this way.