A BRADFORD man has avoided a driving ban as he would lose his employment and income.

Stephen Andrew Hall, 67 of High Fernley Road, Wyke, was caught speeding on the A19 in Knayton, North Yorkshire, on August 26, 2022. 

He pleaded guilty to the offence and was sentenced at Harrogate Magistrates' Court on May 3. 

He was ordered to pay a £123 fine, costs of £90 and a £49 surcharge to fund victim services. 

Hall must pay the £262 total before May 31 this year. 

He was also given three points on his licence, but court documents state there was no totting disqualification - issued to drivers who incur 12 penalty points within a three-year period - due to mitigating circumstances. 

The court record states: "The defendant is a flight instructor.

"He was a commercial airline pilot up until this employment and has been since the late 1980s.

"He now coaches new pilots and tests new vehicles. He may be required to travel anywhere in the UK to deliver training and tutoring and they are often at small airfields in remote locations, not commercial airports.

"He would not be able to conduct his employment without driving, he drives in excess of 40,000 miles per year."

The court record added that Hall relies on his own income and has no family members to support him and would be "caused exceptional hardship without his income".