A 51-year-old crane driver, who was detected by police driving with excess alcohol in May last year was also driving while disqualified, Fermanagh Magistrates Court has heard.

Appearing before the court to face what were described as, 'very serious charges' was Kevin McMenamin with an address at Cleenish Park in Enniskillen.

Sentencing the defendant to a four month prison sentence, the Resident Magistrate Mr McFarland told the defendant that the normal practice was to send someone to prison for an offence of this nature. But, on this occasion, he would not impose an immediate custodial sentence and instead suspended the sentence for two years.

In evidence, the court heard that on 27th May last year, at around 8.20pm, the defendant was stopped driving a BMW car at Five Points junction.

Officers smelt intoxicating liquor on his breath and he was arrested for driving with excess alcohol. An evidential breath specimen provided at Enniskillen Police Station recorded a reading of 47mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath – 12 in excess of the legal limit. The defendant opted for a blood specimen to be taken, which gave a reading of 99mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.

Police also discovered that the defendant was disqualified from driving in January 2006 and was therefore driving while disqualified at the time of this incident.

Defending, Aubrey Murray accepted that these were 'very serious charges'. He told the court that his client was a 51-year-old crane driver, who worked in Carrick-on-Shannon. He said that his client had two children, one of whom was still at college.

Mr Murray said that his instructions were that, when he was stopped, he had come to Fermanagh to bring his car down south as he wasn't disqualified from driving across the border. The defendant was in the process of relocating to live permanently in Carrick-on-Shannon. He added that the defendant hadn't driven in the North since May.

"This is very much a 'one-off' Mr Murray said.

The defendant was described by the defending solicitor as a 'hard-working man' who was working to provide for his daughter who, the court was told, was present in the court with her father.

Sentencing, Resident Magistrate Mr McFarland fined the defendant £500 and disqualified him from driving for three years for driving with excess alcohol. For driving without insurance, he was fined £100, and for driving while disqualified, McMenamin was sentenced to four months' imprisonment, suspended for two years. The defendant was also disqualified from driving for three years on this charge.