Found sitting in car while drunk

When police received a report that a person sitting in a car in Dromore may have been drunk they found a 60-year-old man smelling strongly of alcohol.

Noel David Mills, Tonaghmore Road, Dromore, was fined £250 last Thursday at Banbridge Magistrates Court sitting in Newry, for being drunk in charge of a car with excess alcohol in breath.

He was also banned from driving for nine months and ordered to pay a £15 offender’s levy.

The court heard police received a report of a vehicle parked close to Supervalu on the Banbridge Road, Dromore, and it was believed the driver was under the influence of alcohol.

When police arrived on the scenen the engine of the vehicle was switched off but the keys were in the ignition and there was a smell of alcohol from the defendant.

Mills failed a roadside test and a later evidential test gave a reading of 100.

A solicitor representing Mills said a close friend had passed away and the defendant had been drinking heavily afterwards.

He added that the defendant accepted he would face a lengthy period of disqualification.

Deputy District Judge Laura Ievers told the court that it made her sad to see a man of mature years who was respected in the community appearing before her.

But, she added, he had previously been disqualified and she could not therefore deal with this matter by way of points.

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