A MAN avoided a driving ban because he would have lost a job created for him following a murder sentence.

Geoffrey Laycock, of St Anne's Road, Belle Vue, Doncaster, appeared at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court last month.

The 52-year-old admitted to going 36mph on the 30mph Skircoat Road, Halifax on July 19 of last year.

He was not given a totting disqualification due to his mitigating circumstances.

Court documents say exceptional hardship was granted to Laycock due to two grounds.

The first was the impact on his job. Laycock would struggle to find new employment considering a previous 15-year murder sentence.

His current job has been created specifically for him and he would be unlikely to get this opportunity again.

The impact on his finances is the other ground.

The documents say Laycock would potentially lose his rented home and the fact he lives alone makes the impact high.

Laycock was fined £115 and had to pay court costs of £110 and a victim surcharge of £34.

His case was heard on Friday, December 9.

On October 15, 2003, Geoffrey Laycock was sentenced to life after being found guilty of murdering his friend Marvin Whitehead.

Laycock stabbed Marvin 18 times in a frenzied knife attack at his home at Willow Bank, Todmorden, before making a bungled attempt to cover his tracks.