'Racists' made man speed

A LATVIAN man living in Rasharkin drove at a speed of almost 100mph on a north Antrim road because he thought he was being followed by racists, it was claimed in court.

By The Newsroom

Published 19th May 2010, 14:53 BST

Updated 20th May 2010, 12:42 BST

A defence lawyer for 27-year-old Meija Ingus of Bridge Street said his client had been “subjected to racial abuse in Rasharkin and this led on occasions to cars following him and this led to him speeding up.

“He was at this speed because a vehicle was very close behind him,” it was claimed at North Antrim Magistrates Court in Coleraine on Wednesday of last week.

The offence was detected on February 9 this year at Craigs Road, Rasharkin.

The defendant was doing 94mph in a 60mph zone in a Skoda Octavia car.

The court heard the defendant has been living in Northern Ireland for two years since coming to work.

He was fined 100 and given three penalty points after he pleaded guilty to contravening the speed limit.