STEERING RACK OF FARMER’S CAR WAS HELD TOGETHER WITH BALING CORD

SOME farmers use baling cord to keep their trousers up.

But Co Donegal farmer William McGeehin used it….to keep his car on the road.

Garda Inspector Michael Harrison told Letterkenny District Court that officers were shocked when they spotted McGeehan driving in a clapped-out rusting Nissan Terrano.

Gardai stopped William McGeehan, 56, when they noticed his jeep was swaying from side to side and appeared to be down on one end.

Upon closer inspection they discovered the Nissan Terrano had a number of serious defects.

As well as being heavily rusted, it also had bald tyres, broken indicators and the steering column was held together by baling cord.

The car wasn’t taxed and it had no insurance.

Gardai told Letterkenny District Court they stopped McGeehan of Glenkeragh, Newmills in Creeslough on September 18th, 2012.

The vehicle was immediately seized.

“It wasn’t fit to drive so it had to be taken away on the back of a lorry,” said Inspector Harrison.

The vehicle was subjected to an examination by an NCT expert and found to be in an extremely dangerous state.

Judge Paul Kelly said the condition of the vehicle could have resulted in a serious accident.

“It’s obvious that the condition of the vehicle made it a death-trap,” he said.

Defence solicitor Frank Dorrian said the jeep had been on McGeehan’s farm for a number of years and had only been used that day because the farmer’s other car was broken.

The vehicle has since been scrapped, he added.

He asked Judge Kelly not to put McGeehan off the road saying he had a child with a heart defect and regularly needed to attend hospital in Dublin.

Judge Kelly imposed fines totalling €550.

McGeehan was fined €200 for no insurance, €150 for the defective steering and €200 for having bald tyres. The other charges were taken into consideration.

The judge told McGeehan that he should consider himself lucky that he was not being put off the road.

McGeehan has a number of previous convictions, including one for spitting at two nephews in a row over land.

Earlier this year he was banned by a judge from speaking to his brother for three years in a separate case.