A FOOTBALL coach who was stopped by police who had noticed his car was damaged and smoking has been disqualified for drink driving.
Michael Curry (44) of Hillview Road pleaded guilty to drink driving at a remote sitting of Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday.
At around 7.40pm on April 23 police on mobile patrol in Enniskillen saw a car at the junction of Cornagrade Road and Kilmacormick Road that was noticeably damaged and had smoke coming out of it. The officers followed the car and used their lights to signal for it to pull over, which it did at Hillview.
When the officers spoke to the driver, Curry, his speech was slurred and his breath smelled of alcohol.
When he was arrested he returned an evidential breath reading of 84 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, the legal limit being 35.
Defence solicitor Kevin Magill said Curry had already lost his job as a result of the drink driving, as it had involved driving from one car repair shop to another to deal with insurance assessments.
Stating he was a football coach, involved with both Fermanagh and Tyrone and particularly at underage level, Mr Magill handed in references for Curry, including one from a PSNI officer.
The solicitor added Curry was regretful and remorseful for what had happened, and wanted to put it behind him.
District Judge Chris Holmes disqualified him from driving for 15 months, stating he would have disqualified him for 18 months if it was not for the current Covid situation. He also fined Curry £250 and certified him for the drink driving course, which if completed will reduce the disqualification by one quarter.
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