Former DUP councillor Luke Poots has been handed a four month ban and fined £300 after a judge convicted him of driving a tractor while using a mobile phone.
Having heard that Poots (35) had driven the New Holland tractor from his home in Lisburn to Craigavon Magistrates Court, District Judge Michael Ranaghan told him the driving disqualification would start at midnight.
Two police officers testified that as their vehicle was driving northbound on the A1 in June 2022, they spotted a New Holland tractor in the distance and could see the driver was on the phone for up to a minute.
Having used their blue lights and sirens to pull the tractor over, he said the defendant accepted he had been talking on the phone but maintained he was using a hands free kit.
The court heard that having spoken to Poots initially, he got back into the tractor and drove off but the police went after him and pulled him over again and this time they turned on their body worn cameras.
Poots maintained he had been using his hands free kit.
Under cross examination from defence counsel Conor Coulter, one constable told the court that during the stop, Poots was “being obstructive...and getting quite irate” and refused to accept a fixed penalty notice so he had engaged his body worn camera.
Poots gave evidence on his own behalf and having declared that “I’m a Christian,” he opted to take an oath on the bible.
He told the judge “I was on the phone with my father” when he saw the police behind him on the carriageway, claiming that DUP MLA Edwin Poots checked with him “are you on the hands free and I said ‘of course’”.
According to Poots, the officers would not have been able to see if he was holding his hand in front of his chest.
Under cross examination from the prosecution, Poots suggested at one stage that the A1 “is a hotspot for farmers being targeted” by the PSNI.
Judge Ranaghan said the police officers had given credible evidence.
Having imposed the fine and four month driving ban along with a £15 offender levy, the judge granted bail for an appeal but did not give permission for Poots to drive pending that appeal.
He deferred the ban until midnight to allow him to drive his tractor home.