Sounded horn on van and said ‘once a rat, always a rat’

A Scarva man was given a suspended prison sentence last Thursday at Banbridge Magistrates Court for breaching a non molestation order.

Phillip Magill (33), Moody Park, Scarva, was sentenced to four months in custody, suspended for two years, and fined £250.

He was also fined £250, with a £15 offender’s levy, for breach of a conditional discharge.

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The court heard that case had been listed at a previous court as a contest but Magill did not turn up on the day and he was convicted in his absence.The breach of the non molestation order was alleged to have happened between March 8 and April 9 this year at Moody Park.

It was claimed Magill sounded the horn of his van as he drove past the injured party’s home and said to her ‘once a rat always a rat’.

A barrister representing the defendant said he mixed up the dates as far as the contest was concerned and he still maintained that he did not commit the offence.

Bail was set at £500 for Magill to lodge an appeal.