Continued to speak on mobile phone

Even though she had been warned by police she was committing an offence a 29-year-old woman continued to talk into her mobile phone while she was driving in Portadown.
Symbol of law and justice in the empty courtroom, law and justice concept.Symbol of law and justice in the empty courtroom, law and justice concept.
Symbol of law and justice in the empty courtroom, law and justice concept.

Laura Toma, Annagh Hill, Portadown, admitted using a hand held phone while driving on March 7 this year.

She was fined £75 last Wednesday at Craigavon Magistrates Court and banned from driving for six months.

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A concurrent six month ban and a £100 fine were imposed for having a child under the age of 14 in the front of a vehicle not wearing a seat belt.

The court heard that at 1.15pm police on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown saw the defendant driving towards the town centre.

She had a mobile phone in her right hand about six inches in front of her mouth and appeared to be in a conversation.

She stopped at a red light at the junction of Bridge Street and Castle Street and when police approached her she was still using the phone and the screen showed a call in progress.

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Police had to open the car door to tell her that it was an offence to use the phone while driving and asked her to go into a car park.

Toma drove into the car park still using the phone and parked. Police observed that the call was still in progress.

She was asked for her licence but said she had very little English and through a translator said using a mobile phone was allowed in Portugal.

There was a young female passenger in the front seat. The four-year-old was not using a seat belt.

Toma appeared in court and through an interpreter pleaded guilty to the charges. She also said she had lost her licence.