R-plate driver aged 21 was clocked at over double the speed limit in Co Antrim

An R-driver on his way home from a wake hit a speed of almost 100mph.

Chinasa Okoronkwo, 21, of Garden Street in Magherafelt, was detected doing 96mph at 9.40pm on July 10 this year at Rathbeg on the M2 motorway near Antrim town.

He pleaded guilty to exceeding his restricted speed of 45mph.

A defence barrister told Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena on Tuesday, the defendant had been "attending a wake in respect of a family member of someone in his Gaelic team" and had been on his way home.

The driver was caught on the M2 motorway at Rathbeg, near Antrim townplaceholder image
The driver was caught on the M2 motorway at Rathbeg, near Antrim town

The defendant had told police: "I was silly, I wasn't paying attention."

District Judge Nigel Broderick said there had to be a deterrent to stop others doing such speeds.

He said: "This is far too high a speed. You are not experienced enough to be driving at this speed".

He banned the defendant from driving for a month and fined him £150.

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