Returned to habit of sniffing air fresheners

A 38-year-old man found in a car in Portadown under the influence of something had returned to a habit of his teenage years of sniffing air fresheners, a court heard last week.
Judge's court wig and hammer or gavelJudge's court wig and hammer or gavel
Judge's court wig and hammer or gavel

Christopher Foster, Primrose Way, Dromore, appeared last Wednesday at Craigavon Magistrates Court.

For being in charge of a vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs he was fined £350 and disqualified for three months.

He was fined £200, ordered to pay a £15 offender’s levy and given a concurrent three month ban for not having insurance.

The court heard that on September 9 last year police received a report from the Lidl store on the Armagh Road in Portadown of someone buying a large quantity of air fresheners.

They spoke to the defendant whose speech was slurred and he seemed to be under the influence of something.

He had inhaled air freshener and asked to be taken to hospital.

A public prosecutor said a blood sample showed a prescribed drug and the evidence of unfit was down to the observations of a police officer.

A solicitor representing Foster said there was prescription medication but the air freshener evaporated from the system as soon as the effect had worn off.

He explained his client had experimented with this in his teenage years and it appeared to have raised its head again.

Foster was now attending with the community addictions team.

The solicitor said the defendant was a dental technician and had been offered a job in Newtownards which meant he would have to rely on public transport.

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