A BEAMSLEY man has been fined more than £1,000 and banned from driving for 12 months after being caught reading a map at the wheel.

Peter John Rigby, 73 was captured on a police safety camera reading at the wheel of his Honda Jazz for more than ten seconds on March 4 on the A59 at Beamsley Hill, Skipton magistrates were told.

Rigby admitted dangerous driving and was fined £1,080 and ordered to pay a victims surcharge of £108 and costs of £85.

In addition to being banned from driving for a year, he was told he would have to take an extended driving test before being allowed to drive again.

After the court case, Dave Brown, North Yorkshire's safety camera team manager, said: "Mr Rigby captured the attention of the safety camera operator when he began to wander across the dotted white line of the overtaking lane as he read the map.

"The footage captured by the safety camera shows Mr Rigby is distracted for at least ten seconds while flicking through his atlas and then holding it up to his face, completely obscuring his view of the road."

He added: "Those ten seconds could have been disastrous for him or other road users. He should consider himself fortunate that he was in a position to attend court and escape with just a driving ban and hefty fine.

"This case demonstrates the clear evidence captured by the safety camera and should serve as a reminder to other road users of the potential consequences if they choose to take unnecessary and dangerous risks."