A 27 YEAR old driver suspected of drink-driving refused to provide a breath test at the roadside and again at the police station, heard Skipton Magistrates Court.

Gregory Knox had been drinking with friends while watching a Liverpool football match the court heard on Friday.

Police came across him at 2am on February 22 parked in a layby off the B160 at Drebley Lane, near Hebden, Skipton.

The lights of his Volkswagen car were on and the engine was running, the court was told.

While running checks, officers noted that the MOT on the car had expired in January. Knox was asked to provide a road side breath test, but he refused, despite a number of warnings, the court heard.

He was taken to the police station where he again refused to be breathalysed, saying he did not understand why he was being asked to do so.

He did however tell the police he had been drinking with friends while watching a Liverpool football match, the court heard.

Knox, of previous good character, admitted failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

He told the court that he had not understood how serious it was to refuse and that he had acted 'stupidly'.

He added that it had been explained to him by officers and again in the morning. "I realise it was wrong, it was daft," he said.

Knox, a joiner of Westville Road, Ilkley, was banned from driving for 12 months, fined £211 and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a surcharge of £84. If he completes a drink driver rehabilitation course, his ban will be reduced by 13 weeks.

Magistrates took into account his guilty plea and that he showed remorse.