A 20-year-old mechanic has been convicted of using a car which was in a dangerous condition.

Caolan Maguire, of Boho Road, Drummacoorin, Enniskillen, denied the offence but admitted the Citroen ZX had a defective tyre.

He was fined £350 and given three penalty points.

An authorised vehicle examiner from the PSNI’s Roads Policing unit told Fermanagh Court that on Monday, October 20, last year, he was on duty in Enniskillen. Around 9.15pm he followed the Citroen into the Holyhill Car Park because the car’s suspension had been excessively lowered. He examined it and found there was no movement in the suspension.

The officer explained that while a vehicle’s suspension provides comfort for the occupants its primary job is to keep all four wheels in contact with the road, which is particularly important when cornering.

He advised Maguire to have the problem rectified and served him with a prohibition notice, banning him from using it on the public road but allowed him to drive it home at a speed of no more than 40mph.

The officer said he was subsequently informed that Maguire had produced the car at a police station with the problem rectified.

However, he told the court that around 8pm or 9pm on December 30, last year, he saw the Citroen parked at Townhall Street in Enniskillen. The suspension had again been lowered and one of the tyres was defective.

Maguire told the court he bought the Citroen about a year ago and did not do any work to the suspension prior to the car passing the MoT test last May.

He said that after the police officer stopped him on October 20, he removed all the tools he carried in the boot and took it to the police station. It was examined and the prohibition notice was lifted. He then put the tools back into the boot.

The prosecutor asked him if the Holyhill Car Park was a place were young men with an interest in cars would gather and have an interest in lowering their vehicle’s suspension.

“Not necessarily, no,” replied Maguire.

“But some of them do,” suggested the prosecutor.

“Yes,” said Maguire, denying that he had an interest in doing so.

District Judge Nigel Broderick said the car had been deemed dangerous and Maguire had been served with a prohibition notice. He did not mention tools being in the boot when he was initially stopped in October.

The District Judge said that what troubled him about the case was that Maguire accepted that the tools in the back of the vehicle rendered it dangerous but for his own reasons he keep driving it with the tools in the vehicle.

He convicted Maguire of using a car in a dangerous condition.

The court heard that Maguire’s previous conviction for using a vehicle in a dangerous condition related to an exhaust which was smoking excessively.