Greysteel man detected drink driving after he forgot to turn on car's headlights

A Greysteel man, who was found to be more than twice the legal drink drive limit, was detected by police after he forgot to turn on the car's headlights.

Appearing before Limavady Magistrates' Court today (Wednesday) was Liam MacGinnis, of Ashfield Road.

The 63 year-old was charged with driving with excess alcohol on February 5.

The court heard that MacGinnis was stopped by police shortly after 11pm at Killylane Road, Eglinton.

Officers detected a smell of alcohol off MacGinnis, who was asked to take a preliminary breath test, which the court heard he failed.

He was conveyed to the custody suite in Waterside where he provided a sample of breath which returned an alcohol reading of 75mg – 35mg is the legal limit.

MacGinnis' solicitor Don Mahoney said on the night in question his client had met some friends at a pub which was just over a mile away from his home.

Describing MacGinnis as 'an individual who very rarely drinks', Mr Mahoney said he got into his car and 'went into autopilot mode' forgetting to turn on the headlights which subsequently brought him to the attention of police.

“Up until now he never had a point on his licence,” added Mr Mahoney.

District Judge Peter King disqualified MacGinnis from driving for 16 months and fined him £250.