A 27-year-old man has avoided receiving a disqualification from driving after he was found guilty of failing to provide a specimen of breath.

Christopher Neil Ferguson of Lough Eyes Road, Lisbellaw was detected by police along with another male jumping on the roof of a red Seat Leon in Tempo on December 20, 2017.

Police also noticed damage to the windscreen and wing mirror of the car. The other male was identified as the owner of the car. Both men were drunk and police advised them to leave.

The officers returned a time later and noticed the car had been moved around three metres from its original spot. Ferguson was in the passenger seat and there were no keys in the ignition.

The defendant was searched by police and keys were recovered from his pockets. He was taken to Enniskillen Police Station where he failed to provide a sample of breath.

A solicitor for Ferguson told the court how his client had failed to answer “yes” or “no” to the the question of would he provide a sample? The question was asked four times with Ferguson, who had requested a solicitor, believing he did not have to give a sample as he was not driving.

Ferguson’s solicitor added that his client now knows this was not the case.

The defence went on to argue that the court should apply the test in a case of Chatters v Burke, 1986 which identified seven matters that should be taken into account by magistrates when deciding short distance driven cases. These included how far the vehicle was driven; whether the driver intended to go any further; the manner in which it was driven; the state of the vehicle; the road and traffic conditions at the time; whether there was a possibility of danger to other road users; and the reason for the car being driven.

Ferguson’s solicitor said he could not put forward any reasons for driving, that the distance was so short to factor in the manner of driving, there was no given intention to drive the vehicle any further as they were in a church car park with very few cars around so there was minimal risk if any to other road users.

He added that this these were “unusual circumstances” hence why he felt special reasons should be used. The court heard how the 27 year old worked as a steel erector in England and he collected and drove workers to the airport and then on to the site in England so his licence was important for his job. Judge Renahan said he was convinced with the special reasons argument and and said the court can show “considerable leniency”.

He imposed a fine of £450 and seven penalty points.