Enniskillen Magistrates Court heard on Monday that shortly after October 5 police signalled for a silver Ford Focus on the Gola Road in Lisnaskea, and were forced to bring the car to a controlled stop. 

When the officers spoke to the driver, Brendan McGovern (23) of Drumcong, Co Leitrim, they discovered he had no licence or insurance, and noted he had a number of passengers who seemed nervous. 

District Judge John Meehan asked McGovern, who was not represented legally in court, what he had to say about the incident. He replied he was guilty of driving without insurance or a licence, explaining he did not have money to pay for his insurance, and that he was sorry. 

McGovern explained he had offered one of his passengers a lift to Fermanagh to collect a van that was being fixed locally. He added the car was seized by police at the time, and he had “let it be written off” as he could not afford to pay the release fee. 

Judge Meehan told McGovern he had put the lives others at risk by driving without a licence, and said the fact he was driving with passengers in the car was an aggravating feature in the case. He fined McGovern £250 for having no insurance and disqualified him from driving for six months. For driving without a licence Judge Meehan fined him £100 and disqualified him until he passes his driving test.