A magistrate yesterday handed out widely varying punishments for two speeders caught doing 74 kph in St. George's recently.

Magistrate Ed King banned Clevanna Symonds, 31, of Marl Lane, Warwick from driving cars after she pleaded guilty to the offence on Kindley Field Road on December 26.

Symonds asked to be able to keep her licence after explaining that she needed it to take her children to school and her grandmothter to hospital for dialysis.

However she was fined $650 and given a year's ban as well as getting a $150 fine for not having a valid driver's licence.

Jose Medeiros, 25, of Great Bay Road, St. George's later admitted to doing 74 kph on St David's Road on December 7 but was only given the $650 fine. Further checks were done on Medeiros while other cases were dealt with and then he was told he could leave the court.

Mr. King refused to discuss the discrepancy with a reporter after the plea court session and angrily said: "I don't have to answer to the Press!"