A Portadown man has been handed six penalty points after taking his friends moped to a car wash to have it cleaned.
Shane Samuel McCullough, of Abercorn Park, pleaded guilty to using a motorbike without insurance and taking that vehicle without permission at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
It was heard the defendant was stopped by police on the Brownstown Road, Portadown after the orange Honda motorcycle he was driving was flagged as being uninsured.
The defendant told officers he was not the owner of the motorcycle but believed it to be insured.
Police spoke to the registered owner of the vehicle who stated the bike had been taken without his permission.
McCullough was caution and during a notebook interview made full admissions.
It was heard that the forty-eight-year-old was divorced, unemployed and three penalty points on his licence.
Defence solicitor Gabriel Ingram explained, “the moped belonged to his friend and he had been given the keys to his friend’s garage to clean the moped”.
He added that the defendant had taken the vehicle to “a car washer to get it cleaned”.
Mr Ingram also informed the court McCullough had previously been insured to ride the motorcycle, but the owner had cancelled this policy without the defendant’s knowledge.
McCullough was handed six penalty points and ordered to pay a fine of £600, along with the offender’s levy of £15, within 12 weeks.
