THE boss of a construction firm has lost his appeal against a six-month driving ban after racking up seven speeding offences in six months in his £26,000 Range Rover.

Bakr Motawaa today claimed exceptional hardship before a judge and magistrate at Bradford Crown Court after the disqualification was imposed by justices on October 20 last year.

He served 28 days of it before launching the appeal but was told by Recorder Simon Eckersley that because it had failed he would now have to start from scratch and serve the full six months.

Motawaa, 42, argued that the speeding fines were sent to an address at St John’s Road in Huddersfield where he wasn’t living anymore and that the ban had put his business at risk.

Assisted by an Arabic interpreter, he explained that he needed to be able to drive both the Range Rover and his van to carry out work in Bradford and Batley.

He used to have five employees but he was now down to one so he could only take on small jobs. He would be in trouble with clients if he was unable to complete the work.

If he could drive, he could take on more staff and undertake bigger contracts, he said.

He claimed that his business and family would be destroyed by the ban.

The cost of hiring a driver would be too high. He had tried but couldn’t get one long-term.

“I love designing and construction,” he said.

It was the only way he had earned a living since coming to the UK in 2015.

Motawaa, who has a wife and two children, said he had a business loan to repay. He was living with several family members and solely responsible for paying the rent.

Recorder Eckersley said Motawaa had accumulated seven speeding offences in six months. He blamed them on the speed he was able to achieve in his new £26,000 Range Rover, said to be essential for the running of his business, as opposed to a cheap and efficient work van.

He had served about 28 days of the disqualification but they would not count against the six months, the whole ban would start today.

Recorder Eckersley said the court did not accept that Motawaa’s business or family would suffer exceptional hardship.

The business had existed while he was disqualified for 28 days and paying someone with a driving licence for the next six months would be achievable. If he sold his Range Rover he could get by.

“There are ways as a matter of common sense for the limited period of six months for that business to be run,” the recorder stated.