The solicitor of a 39-year-old County Derry man claims that he has the largest criminal record in the history of the British and Irish judicial system.

Eamon Lynch, from Wesley Street, in Derry, has been jailed having admitted to a number of traffic offenses in the city, in 2010. He will spend half of his 28-month sentence in jail.

Speaking in court on Wednesday Judge Piers Grant called his record "appalling" . He said his files contained the most significant number of convictions ever to come before him.

The BBC reports that Lynch, a father-of-eight, has 472 past convictions, including almost 300 driving offenses. He has also racked up offenses for burglary, assault, forgery and drugs.

The court heard that Lynch was seen in 2010 driving a car which struck two parked cars. The owner of the cars recognized Lynch who was later seen on walking on the Craigavon Bridge. When the police approached he threw the keys to the car into the River Foyle.

He was arrested and breathalyzed. The police found his to be more than twice the legal limit.
At the time of his arrest he was disqualified from driving until 2023.

The court also heard that last year Lynch has moved to Donegal where he committed another seven road traffic offences.