Was three times over limit

Michael Molloy (23) admitted a charge of driving with excess alcohol in breath on June 26 this year. District Judge Peter King told him: “You were more than three times the limit, never mind a minor RTC, you could have killed somebody.”

The judge said the defendant couldn’t get behind the wheel of a car in such circumstances and expect to walk away with just a fine. He adjourned the case until October for a pre-sentence report.

Molloy, of Tamlaghtduff Park, Bellaghy, had an alcohol breath level of 110. A defence lawyer said his client was in Portglenone but there was a “fall-out”. A friend in a distressed state required to “go home immediately”.