A MOTORIST found to have four young children in his car who were not properly strapped in has been warned that he faces a disqualification if he repeats the offence.

Michal Simko (33), of Carrowshee Park, Lisnaskea, was charged with three counts of carrying a child without a seatbelt in the rear of his vehicle, one count of carrying a child without a seatbelt in the front of the vehicle and a further count of using a motor vehicle in a dangerous condition at Main Street, Lisnaskea on June 27, 2017.

Simko, a Slovakian national, entered a guilty plea via an interpreter when he appeared before Fermanagh Magistrates Court on Monday.

The court heard that, at around 3pm, a police mobile patrol observed a black Volkswagen Passat being driven by the defendant travelling along Main Street in Lisnaskea.

Officers noted that the front seat passenger’s window was down and they could see an adult female in the car with a child on her lap.

The car was stopped a short distance away, the court heard.

In the front passenger seat was a nine-year-old child sitting on the adult female’s lap.

When the defendant put down the heavily-tinted rear windows, police observed three young children, all under 10, in the back of the car.

Two were in child car seats, but not strapped in.

The third, a small child, was sitting in the middle and was not in a car seat or restrained. When spoken to, the defendant told officers that he was picking up the children from school.

Speaking through an interpreter, Simko, who represented himself, told the court that he was the father of two of the children and that the other children were his sister’s.

The defendant claimed that he had been in a rush on the day in question. While he told the court he would always check that the children had their seat belts on, on this occasion he didn’t.

District judge, Nigel Broderick, imposed fines totalling £400, a £15 offender levy and endorsed the defendant’s driving licence with three penalty points.

The judge warned: “In future, sir, make sure your children are properly strapped in. If it happens again, you could be disqualified.”