A TAXI driver has been banned from driving for 40 months by Skipton Magistrates after admitting his second drink driving offence in ten years.

Mohammed Belal Aziz, 29, was stopped by police on Grassington Road, Skipton at about 1am on June 17, after officers saw his BMW car swerve a couple of times, the court heard today (Friday).

A roadside breath test was positive and he was taken to Harrogate Police Station where he was found to have 77 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit is 35. The court was told Aziz was previously banned from driving for 12 months in November 2011, also for drink driving.

Aziz, a taxi driver with a young family, would not be able to continue with his current job and would have to rely on benefits, the court heard.

In mitigation, Mohammed Hussain said Aziz had been helping out at an event during the day and had not realised he was over the limit.

Aziz, of Byron Street, Oldham, was banned from driving for 40 months and was fined £120, with costs of £85 and a surcharge of £30. His request to take a drink drivers rehabilitation course, which would have reduced his ban by a quarter, was turned down on the grounds it was his second drink driving offence.