A motorist who had what a district judge described as being as bad a driving record as one was ever going to see had a five-month jail sentence and seven-year driving ban imposed on him yesterday.

A drunk driver sped away from gardaí narrowly missing crashes with two other cars and later jumped into the back of his car on top of his three passengers in the hope that his driving would not be detected.

Bodybuilding steroids mixed with alcohol triggered a formerly successful young hurler to launch a violent attack on his girlfriend when he kidnapped and terrified her at his home.