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Defence pleads with judge not to ban council employee with unsociable working hours

A council employee has been fined after failing to produce his licence for a fixed speeding penalty.

The 24-year-old, of Kernan Road, Craigavon, pleaded guilty at Armagh Magistrates’ on Tuesday to an excess speed charge.

The incident occurred on March 9, last year, at around 2.30 pm police stopped the defendant driving 44mph in a 30mph zone.

At the roadside, the defendant was unable to produce his licence to pay the fixed penalty.

Defence Counsel told the court the defendant had lost the plastic part of his licence and sent his paper part to the DVLA in February this year but had not received a duplicate.

They added that they had been in contact with them but were told a backlog meant it could take up to eight weeks to come.

Court heard that the defendant worked for the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and his hours were from seven in the morning and ten in the evening.

The defence explained that if he lost his licence it would be a problem as “public transport does not operate in these unsocial hours”.

They also asked if District Judge Paul Copeland would wait for the licence before sentencing as it was not known how many live points Mackin had on his licence.

Judge Copeland refused this saying the defendant had “long enough” to get his licence in order.

He was given four penalty points and fined £150, along with the offender’s levy of £15.

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