Man fined for early morning excess

A Pennyburn man who took a car for which he was uninsured for a drive while over the drink driving limit on May Day, has been fined £325 and disqualified from driving.

A Public Prosecution Service (PPS) solicitor told Derry Magistrate’s Court how at 5.00am on May 1, 2017, police encountered Thomas Breslin (27), of Pennyburn Court, driving a Silver Renault Clio on the Northland Road.

Police reported that Breslin refused to give way when turning onto the Springtown Road causing the PSNI vehicle to brake. When questioned Breslin admitted buying the car two weeks earlier. He also admitted having been drinking the night before. He failed a preliminary breath test and was subsequently found to be over the limit, giving a reading of 67 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath, the court heard.

Breslin’s defence solicitor noted her client fully accepted the facts and had immediately alerted police to the fact that he had beeen drinking the evening before the incident. She said this precipitated the breath testing and excess alcohol charge. She told the court how Breslin had fallen out with his girlfriend the night before and had gone to a friend’s house to spend the night, where a car he had purchased was being stationed in advance of his completing an imminent driving test. However, in the early hours Breslin decided to take the car to go and reconcile matters with his girlfriend. His solicitor said he was “deeply embarassed” by the episode.

District Judge Barney McElholm, noting his previously good record, fined him £325 and disqualified him for 12 months.

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