A MAN was arrested last weekend in Derrylin for driving around with only three tyres.
Miroslav Penchev Aleksandrov (24) of Spring Meadows, Derrylin appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving without a licence, and having no test certificate.
Shortly before 3pm last Sunday, September 10, police on duty on Main Street in Derrylin noticed a silver Ford Fiesta, which made its way onto the Ballyconnell Road.
The car approached the mini roundabout at high speed, and then drove to the right of the roundabout, cutting the junction.
Police then noticed one of the car’s back tyres was missing, with the metal rim exposed. The driver appeared to have difficulty controlling the car, which veered towards parked vehicles before its course was corrected to avoid a collision.
The car continued for a short distance before braking sharply and turning into a driveway. Police watched three men get out of the car, then intercepted Aleksandrov as he walked back towards Derrylin. The Bulgarian man made full admissions to police, who had not seen who was driving the car.
Defence solicitor Gary Black explained Aleksandrov had been using the car, which belonged to another man who had returned to Bulgaria, to take his friends to their place of work, a bakery just outside the village. Along the way his tyre burst, but he didn’t to stop as his friends would’ve been late for work.
The solicitor pointed out that police had been able to follow the car on foot, and said while his client understood he should not have cut across the roundabout, he could clearly see there were no other cars approaching the junction from any direction.
Aleksandrov, who had been living here for around eight months, was detained in prison over night after being arrested on Sunday. This was because he’d told police he had a ticket booked to fly to the Czech Republic this week for work, and was not planning to return to Fermanagh.
District Judge Nigel Broderick said Aleksandrov deserved credit for his honesty. He disqualified him from driving for a total of 12 months, until retested, and fined him a total of £285.
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