Glider: Man who allegedly smashed 14 ticket machines granted bail
- Published
Bernard Dorrian allegedly smashed the machines across west Belfast
A passenger allegedly smashed up 14 Glider ticket machines as he used the service to travel across west Belfast, the High Court has heard.
Prosecutors claimed 40-year-old Bernard Dorrian went from stop to stop, vandalising the screens with either a hammer or his own fists.
The total cost of repairing the machines was expected to reach £6,000, the court was told.
Mr Dorrian, of no fixed abode, faces 14 charges of criminal damage
He is accused of attacking the machines - which are owned by Translink - over a two-and-a-half hour period on 28 March.
He was granted bail under conditions which include being banned from the Glider.
A Crown lawyer said 14 ticket machines were attacked between 16:40 and 19:15 BST along the route in west Belfast.
Stops at the Children's Hospital, Twin Spires, Beechmount, Casement, Upper Dunmurry and Clonard were among those targeted.
'Stop to stop'
"CCTV from 12 of the bus stops showed [a passenger] exiting the Glider and smashing the screens on each machine with a small, hand-held implement and punching one," the prosecution barrister said.
"He then got back on the Glider and travelled from stop to stop to damage more."
An appeal for information on social media led to Mr Dorrian being identified as the alleged perpetrator and he was arrested on 12 May.
During police interviews, Mr Dorrian said he had been at a funeral on the day the ticket machines were vandalised.
When shown the CCTV footage he claimed it was someone else who looked like him, the court heard.
Mr Dorrian also faces a further charge of criminal damage to a shower room in the Welcome Centre's drop-in facilities in Townsend Street in Belfast.
He told police he had got trapped in it and panicked.
"He said he damaged the disabled equipment because he fell over and thought someone was attacking him," the prosecutor added.
A defence barrister described his client as having a significant history of mental health issues.
Granting bail to Mr Dorrian, Mr Justice Kinney banned him from drinking alcohol or entering the Welcome Centre.