Judge saw wheelchair user out walking

A man facing jail for a string of road traffic offences offered his status as a wheelchair-user as mitigation — only for the judge to claim he had seen the same man walking towards him just a few months previously.

David Moat, of Cousane, Dunmanway, Co Cork, was found guilty of four separate charges, including driving a vehicle with no tax, while uninsured and while disqualified, near his home on July 14 last year.

He appeared before Bandon District Court yesterday for sentencing, the case having been heard before Clonakilty District Court on June 21, when he was also convicted of threatening and insulting two of his neighbours, also on July 14 last year.