Police saw driver's arms out the sunroof of car

When police saw a car coming towards them they noticed that both of the driver's arms were showing through the sun roof.

Michal Mackiewicz (25), whose address was given as Lurgan Road, Portadown, was given suspended prison sentences last Wednesday at Craigavon Magistrates Court for motoring offences.

The court heard that on May 25 a police patrol on the Lake Road in Craigavon saw a car approaching them.

The driver of the car had both arms and hands through the sun roof and police turned to follow the vehicle.

They saw it pull onto a roundabout and cause another vehicle to swerve to avoid a collision.

Checks by police showed Mackiewicz was a disqualified driver and he was not insured to drive.

Sentencing in the case had been adjourned from a previous court sitting so that a pre-sentence report could be obtained. Ms Siun Downey, representing the defendant, said that from the pre-sentence report it could be seen that her client did not totally agree with the facts from the police,

She added that he had a limited record but it was very relevant.

District Judge, Mrs Bernie Kelly, pointed out that the accused had only been here three years and people who had lived here a lifetime didn’t have his record.

She told Mackiewicz that breach of a court order was a serious offence and that according to the pre-sentence report he took no responsibility for the offences.

Judge Kelly certified the first two charges as so serious there was only one penalty she could impose.

For driving while disqualified and not having insurance she sentenced him to four months in prison, suspended for two years, and banned him from driving for 12 months.

He was fine £75 for driving without due care and attention and £100 for not having a licence. Both charges also attracted concurrent 12 month bans.