A 53-year-old groundsman has been fined and banned from driving for 14 months after refusing to provide a blood specimen and resisting police near Magherafelt.

Francis Bernard Joseph McCrory, of Glenelly Villas in Draperstown, faced charges of failing to provide a specimen while driving unfit and resisting police on August 3, 2024.

Police received a report around 7pm that evening of a possible drink driver swerving on the Killyboggin Road. A vehicle matching the description was later found badly parked at an address in Draperstown.

Officers spoke to staff at a bar in the town and saw McCrory stumbling along St Patrick’s Street. When they attempted to arrest him, he refused to get into the police car and became extremely aggressive, at one point banging his head against the vehicle window.

He was taken to hospital but declined to provide a blood sample for analysis.

At court, a defence lawyer said alcohol had been a serious problem for McCrory but stressed he has been sober for over a year. The lawyer said the defendant was embarrassed by his actions.

McCrory was fined a total of £450, ordered to pay a £15 offender’s levy, and disqualified from driving for 14 months.