Defendant said she had never seen a police officer pointing a speed gun

A Northern Ireland driver caught breaking the limit said she was "scared" when a police officer pointed a 'speed gun' at her.

Zehra Nalbant (49), of Knockbracken Way, Coleraine, said she had never seen a speed gun before and it frightened her.

A prosecutor told Coleraine Magistrates Court on Friday police were were checking the speed of vehicles at the town's Mountdandel Road on November 18 last year and clocked the defendant doing 45mph in a 30mph zone.

The prosecutor said when police spoke to Nalbant she said she wasn't speeding and therefore was not offered a fixed penalty ticket. Nalbant had no previous record and in court she pleaded guilty to an excess speed charge.

She did not outline her story herself but had supplied District Judge Liam McNally with a letter.

The judge told the court that in the letter the defendant explained she had driven for 16 years and had never seen a police officer pointing a speed gun at her and when the incident happened it made her "scared" and "frightened".

The letter explained she was "extremely sorry" and she would not speed again.

In court the defendant was given three penalty points and fined £70 for speeding.

Belfast Telegraph