Judge Broderick told Allen, “I am not singling you out for special treatment”, but that he had to sentence in a way “to act as a deterrent to others.”
Northern Ireland’s top snooker player Mark Allen, was handed a one-month driving ban today (Tues) after he admitted going twice the speed limit in a 30 mph zone.
In addition to the driving disqualification, the 39-year-old was also fined £500 by District Judge Nigel Broderick.
He told Mr Allen, who sat in the public gallery of the court, that while he accepted the snooker professional had put money back into the community at his own expense, given the speed involved, “there has to be a deterrent element in the sentence.”
“If people read about your case and see that you don’t get disqualified, they will think that it’s carte blanche for them,” said the judge, adding that there was clear guidance that if there had been a crash at that speed, “the chances of serious injury, if not fatality, are greatly increased”.
Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, heard that it was around 10pm on the Belfast Road in Antrim when Allen was detected travelling at 60 in the 30 zone.
Defence solicitor Ciaran Toner conceded the defendant has two endorsements on his licence, both for speeding.
He told the court that, as well as being a carer for his mum, there was a reference from the chairman of the Mark Allen Foundation, a local charity of which the defendant is the patron.
Mr Toner said while the speed was plainly “excessive”, and “he should not have been anywhere near that speed,” it was also a factor that the Belfast Road “is quite wide…and he didn’t realise it was a 30 zone.”
“The loss of his licence will have a massive impact,” the solicitor told the court, urging the judge to be as lenient as possible.
Imposing the ban and fine, Judge Broderick told Allen, “I am not singling you out for special treatment”, but that he had to sentence in a way “to act as a deterrent to others.”
The Antrim left-hander turned professional in 2005 and is the only snooker player from NI to hold the world No. 1 ranking position.
An eleven-time ranking event winner, the 39-year-old was recently denied a shot at a third NI Open title, following a 6-3 semi-final defeat at the Waterfront.
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