Pizza driver escapes ban after lapse

A SCARBOROUGH pizza delivery driver caught with no insurance has kept his licence - despite being eligible for a ban.

Peter Thornton, of Sweetbecks Close, pleaded guilty to having no third party insurance after being stopped in his BMW 318i by police in Cross Street.

Scarborough Magistrates Court heard Thornton, 51, was caught by officers in November who saw him get out of his car carrying a pizza bag.

The court heard Thornton, who also delivers animals to pet shops across the country, was not covered to use his vehicle for business means.

Mitigating, Nick Tubbs said: “He normally drives to work from home in his own car which was the one he was in on the night.

“He then uses a work car for the duration of his shift, however, one of his colleagues had taken the car for another delivery.

“The food was ready and he took his it upon himself that his own car was parked nearby so he would use that so the customer got their food fresh and hot.

“Losing his licence would mean losing his livelihood. His work makes ends meet, but only just.”

Thornton added: “If I lose my licence I will have to go back into unemployment which I do not want to do. At my age I will not be able to get a job as I like.”

Magistrates gave Thornton six points - adding to six previous points accrued - taking him to the ban threshold of 12 points.

However, they allowed him to keep his licence on grounds of exceptional hardship but fined him £165 and £45 court costs.