Elderly Ardboe van driver was leaving friend home from pub

A RETIRED boat builder and fisherman who came to the attention of police as he swerved across the road in the Ardboe area, was subsquently found to be drink driving.

By The Newsroom

Published 26th Jul 2014, 21:45 BST

Seventy-six year-old Charles McElroy, from Killycanavan Road in the village, pleaded guilty at Dungannon Magistrates Court to the offence, along with a further charge of driving without insurance.

The court was told a police patrol on the Ardboe Road saw a van being driven very slowly and swerving at around 12.20am on June 15.

Police pulled up behind the van and signalled it to stop, however, despite sirens being activated by the officers, the van continued for a distance before eventually stopping and a passenger getting out of the vehicle.

McElroy was asked to get out of the van and was unsteady on his feet as he did so. A sample of breath provided by him showed an alcohol level of 91mg, 16mg in excess of the legal limit.

McElroy was banned from the road for eight years and fined a total of £600.

Police