A man who sped through Lurgan and drove on the footpath and grass verges during police pursuit has been sentenced to three months in prison.
Ryan Robert Anderson, of Victoria Street, Belfast, was also fined £275 and disqualified from driving for 12 months for the incident, which occurred on July 21 this year.
The 32-year-old appeared before Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Friday charged with dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, no insurance, no licence, no vehicle test certificate and fraudulent use of a vehicle registration.
The court heard that on the date of the offences, police were pursuing a Black BMW in Lurgan, which was travelling in excess of the 30mph speed limit.
The vehicle continued on a number of streets, before mounting the kerb and continuing along the footpath for approximately 200m.
In another 30mph zone, the vehicle was observed travelling in excess of 50mph. The roads were residential and there were pedestrians, including children, in the vicinity. The vehicle failed to stop and continued on before turning onto an unpaved farm lane.
The vehicle continued for approximately half a mile before stopping in a field. Police detained the driver, who was the defendant.
He was the sole occupant of the vehicle and checks on the police system discovered that his driving licence status was not applicable, he had no insurance and the vehicle test had expired.
When he was arrested for the motoring charges, he replied “I apologise” and admitted all the offences at interview.
David McKeown BL, defending, described the incident as “very foolish” conceding there was “no excuse for it and no real explanation for it”.
He added that his client was on licence at the time and has since been recalled, now facing up to 15 months in custody.
“To his credit, he made full admissions at the scene,” said Mr McKeown.
District Judge Bernie Kelly commented: “It was a fairly serious piece of driving which covered not just roadways but pathways and grass verges and pavements where any member of the public could have run foul of his driving.”
She imposed a total concurrent sentence of three months in custody, alongside a £275 fine and a 12 month driving ban.
For the fines, forthwith warrants were ordered for a period of seven days.
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