A 19-year-old driver has admitted that he was speeding but denied that he was racing when he crashed into a traffic light on the Wellington Road in Enniskillen.

Stephen Martin, of Skea, Arney, Enniskillen, also denied driving dangerously but admitted driving carelessly.

After viewing CCTV of the incident and reading witness statements, District Judge Nigel Broderick told Fermanagh Court: “I’m not satisfied that the evidence is there that he was racing.” He said he was making a definitive finding “that he wasn’t racing”.

“The prosecution haven’t convinced me that he was driving dangerously but I find he was driving carelessly,” he continued.

He fined Martin £275 and gave him six penalty points.

The District Judge pointed out that as a probationary driver, who only passed his test in March 2013, Martin will have to re-sit the test “and I think that might be no bad thing”.

The court heard that on January 7, Martin was driving along the Wellington Road when he lost control of his car at a slight right hand bend, spun around and crashed into a traffic light. There were three cars travelling behind him. From the CCTV it looked like the four vehicles were together and in close proximity. One of two people travelling in a car in the opposite direction told police the four cars appeared to be racing. Martin said he knew the driver of the car behind him but denied racing.

The prosecutor submitted that there was no traffic on the road and then four cars appeared at speed.

“It’s the prosecution case that there was racing,” he stated.

Defence solicitor Reggie Ferguson submitted that the two witnesses travelling in the car in the opposite direction made “dramatically different statements”. The other one didn’t mention racing.

“It’s a leap of faith to say these cars were racing,” he argued.

He submitted there was no evidence Martin and the drivers of the other three cars knew each other.

Mr. Ferguson suggested the crash was due to Martin’s inexperience. He had only been driving for a year and when he “touched the brakes” he didn’t have the experience to control the car.

The District Judge told the court that in his view Martin was speeding.

“He says he was doing no more than 40 but I doubt that,” he stated.

He said that in his view the combination of speed, Martin’s inexperience and the road conditions as he went around the slight bend meant that when he braked the car spun and hit the traffic light.