A man accused of drink-driving with an unrestrained baby on his lap has been banned from being alongside his children in any private vehicle.
The prohibition was imposed on Irmantas Kuros as he was granted bail at the high court in Belfast today.
The 39-year-old Lithuanian national was allegedly three times over the limit when he was stopped by police in Portadown, Co Armagh last month.
Prosecutors said he was travelling with his five-month-old son on his knee - just days after being disqualified from driving. His 12-year-old daughter was also with him in the car.
Mr Justice Maguire ruled today that he could be released from custody under a series of conditions. The judge ordered: "He must not be in a private vehicle with either of these two children."
Kuros, a former mushroom picker from Clendinning Way in Portadown, faces charges of driving with excess alcohol, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and having no insurance.
Police spotted him driving along Mahon Road with the baby on his lap on October 24, the court heard previously. They pursued his Audi vehicle and saw the child being passed to a passenger, the court heard. A preliminary breath test carried out after the car was stopped indicated he was three times over the limit, according to the prosecution. It was revealed that he had been banned from driving three days previously.
During interviews Kuros said he had gone to pick up his daughter at a bus stop after school. He took his baby son in the car, claiming to have put him on his lap because the child enjoyed it. But the prosecution argued that his actions put the lives of both children at risk.
The judge ruled he could be bailed to live there under curfew and adhere to a complete alcohol ban. Stressing that Kuros is a disqualified driver who should not be behind the wheel of a car, he further forbid any shared trips with his children. “This is clearly a man who has scant regard for the prohibitions that have been laid down by law,” Mr Justice Maguiore said.
“Drinking and driving is a serious offence, being in a situation where you potentially subject a child or children through your alcohol consumption and your unlawful driving to significant risk is a matter of great concern.”