A 21-year-old trainee chef faces a £300 fine and a 12 month driving disqualification for drink driving following a recent sitting of Fermanagh Magistrates Court.

Resident Magistrate Bonita Boyd heard how on the 5th April this year, police on mobile patrol in the Enniskillen area observed John Lindsay Blair from Killane House, Belfast Road, Brookeborough, drinking alcohol in the area of the Lakeland Forum.

When police returned to the area later on they saw the defendant driving a Ford Focus. He was stopped and police detected a strong smell of intoxicating liquor and noted that his speech was slurred.

He failed a preliminary breath test and was subsequently arrested and conveyed to Enniskillen Police Station. Two breath tests showed the defendant had 49 and then 52 micrograms of alcohol in 100 micrograms of breath. A blood sample showed 98 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Defending, Aubrey Murray told the Court that prior to the incident before the court, his client had been out with friends. He foolishly thought he was not over the limit and took the decision to drive. It was when he was stopped and apprehended by police he realised that he was over the legal limit. He submitted that it wasn't a large reading before the court but one that his client accepted. Ms Boyd imposed a £300 fine and a 12 month driving disqualification.