On the eve of what would have been his son’s 29th birthday, a man whose son was killed by a dangerous driver has slammed a two-month ban given to teen caught driving at 125mph.

Peter Dolan from Omagh was speaking after Adam Bustard from Derrykeighan near Ballymoney pleaded guilty to doing around 125mph on the M2 last year.

Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena, this week handed down a two month ban and £200 fine to the teenager for the offence.

The university student, whose younger brother was in the passenger seat, told police he was tired after attending a boxing event in the SSE Arena and was keen to get home.

placeholder image — Peter Dolan holding an image of his son Enda Dolan, at his home in Omagh. Enda was killed by a drunk-drugged driver in Belfast in 2014.

Mr Dolan said he was "disgusted" by some of what he sees as light sentences being handed down for driving offences, which he believes have no deterrent value to young drivers.

His son, Enda would have celebrated his 29th birthday tomorrow, 20 March.

However the first year QUB architecture student was cut down by a drunk-drugged driver in Belfast in 2014.

Reflecting on the sentence of Mr Bustard this week, Mr Dolan said: "I'm just totally disgusted at some of the sentences that have been handed out in recent times. This one in particular is just not acceptable in this day and age.

"What would have happened if there had been an accident there at 125mph? The knock on consequences would have been horrific for everybody involved - the driver, the passenger and anyone else involved.

"There is no deterrent in handing out a sentence like that. It is just no deterrent at all going forward for anybody. Young drivers need to be aware of the consequences of speeding and that sentence is not sending the right marker out to anybody."

It is difficult for him to see how Enda's friends are getting on with their lives without wondering how Enda would be doing, he said.

"A lot of his friends are now married, settling down and having family and professional careers. We thought Enda would be a part of all that."

He had hoped that after graduation, Enda might have come to work with him in his architecture practice in Tyrone.

"As his dad, that was always certainly my hope. But as long as he would have been happy that would have been all that mattered."

Peter now runs the Enda Dolan Foundation in Omagh which runs many community focussed initiatives in memory of his son.

In 2022 the law in England, Wales and Scotland was changed to bring in a maximum penalty of a life sentence for death by dangerous driving.

Peter has been campaigning since 2014 for NI to increase the sentence for death by dangerous driving in Northern Ireland.

The driver who killed his son had drunk six pints of beer and four Jagerbombs - a mix of a spirit and an energy drink – with traces of drugs, including cocaine, also found in his system.

He received a sentence of seven years, half to be served in prison and half on licence. It was later increased to nine years on appeal.

The Dolan family is organising a Gala Ball in November to celebrate the work done so far by the Enda Dolan Foundation. Details will be found in due course on the Enda Dolan Foundation Facebook page.