'˜U-turn across two lanes of traffic'

After doing a '˜U' turn at a traffic island and driving across two lanes of traffic a 65-year-old Lisburn man was eventually caught by police in the car park at Portadown railway station.

And it later turned out that David Henry, Chapel Hill Mews, Lisburn, was a disqualified driver.

He was sentenced to 100 hours community service last Wednesday at Craigavon Magistrates Court for driving while disqualified and not having insurance. For both offences he was also banned from driving for six months. A fine of £100 was imposed for failing to stop for police. He was fined £50 for not having a vehicle test certificate and £50 for unlawful possession of a class C drug, Tramadol. He was also ordered to pay a £15 offender’s levy.

The court heard that on June 25 this year at the Armagh Road in Portadown a car was checked by police and no insurance was in place. They followed it to Castle Street and pulled in behind the car with their blue lights flashing but it drove on. The vehicle then did a ‘U’ turn at a traffic island and went across two lanes of traffic in the direction it had been coming from. Police pulled across the path of the car but it drove away and went towards the railway station. Henry had stopped in the car park and locked the doors of the vehicle. He had three Tramadol tablets in his possession. When interviewed he said he had no recollection of the journey. The case had been adjourned from a previous court so that a pre-sentence report could be obtained. A barrister representing Henry said he had been involved in serious criminality in younger days and this seemed to have abated around 1992. Since then he had alcohol and driving offences. He added that this wasn’t the defendant’s car and by driving he was breaching a court order. District Judge, Mrs Bernie Kelly, said a breach of a court order was a very serious matter and the defendant had not behaved well with the police at the scene. She added that she could deal with the matter by way of a community based disposal.

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