Motorist banned from driving for five years

Forty-nine-year-old Marck Szeliga from Riverside Gardens in Castledawson was given a four-month jail sentence, suspended for three years, for driving while having consumed excess alcohol.

He was also disqualified from driving for five years.

Szeliga was fined a total of £200 for driving without due care and attention and having no driving licence.

Prosecuting counsel saidpolice received a report of a car being driven erratically at Hospital Road on March 27 at approximately 10.45pm and while on mobile patrol came upon a vehicle matching its description parked on a green space at Tobermore Road.

She said Szeliga was sitting in the car and appeared severely intoxicated and was unable to walk without assistance.

The lawyer said he was conveyed to Antrim custody suite, where he provided a breath specimen showing an alcohol reading of 180mgs.

During interview, the defendant denied the charges and claimed he had been driven by his partner to a friend’s house where he had a very large amount to drink and did not remember the rest of the night.

A defence lawyer said the defendant has “a long history of alcohol abuse”, and pleaded with the court to consider a sentence which involved Probation and Community Service.

“He needs help to address these issues so he does not come before the court again,” the lawyer added.

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