A 79-year-old motorist was twice the legal alcohol limit when police stopped him, a court heard.

Alan Lionel Aspinall was driving along Wetherby Road in Knaresborough.

He was nearly six miles from his home in Wetherby.

The 79-year-old is now off the road until late next year.

Aspinall, of Badger Wood Glade, Wetherby, pleaded guilty to drink driving.

He was fined £369 and ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £37 statutory surcharge.

He was banned from driving for 17 months.

Harrogate magistrates heard that he was driving on Wetherby Road, Knaresborough on November 5.

After he was stopped, he gave a blood test that gave a reading of 165 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

The legal limit is 80 micrograms.

Magistrates gave him the chance to reduce his driving ban by taking a Government approved drink drivers’ rehabilitation course.

If he completes it by April 14 next year, his driving ban will be reduced by 17 weeks.

He will have to reapply to DVLA to get his driving licence back. It will not be automatically returned to him when the ban expires.