Chaplain is banned from the roads for speeding offence
A chaplain has been banned from the roads after being detected speeding.
Lesley Ann Wilson (59), with an address listed as Belvoir Crescent, Belfast, was at Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena, on Tuesday.
She admitted driving at 38mph in a 30mph zone on November 25 last year at a location not outlined to the court.
A prosecutor said a fixed penalty ticket was not available as at the time of the speed detection the defendant had ten penalty points on her licence. Those points included speed detections. The defendant told the court there had been one incident "for holding my mobile phone on a private road into Hydebank Prison".
District Judge Nigel Broderick said with the new speed offence putting the defendant over 12 penalty points she faced being banned for six months or he could exercise discretion.
The defendant said she realised her driving record was poor and added: "I have recognised my bad driving which on reflection was caused by being in a hurry but also through lapses of concentration".
She said she needed her car for work and assisting her elderly mum with health appointments.
The defendant told the court she was recently appointed as a chaplain for a health trust which included being on an on-call rota to "go out in the middle of the night".
Judge Broderick said he would exercise discretion and instead of banning her for six months he was banning her from the roads for a month along with a £200 fine.
The ten penalty points remain on her driving licence.