A Selby man has kept his driving licence after pleading guilty to being in charge of a motor scooter while almost three times the legal drink-drive limit.

Matthew Stanton, of Brown Cow Road, Barlby, was spotted by police officers just before 2am on April 16 in Ousegate, with a friend sitting on his scooter.

The officers watched as Stanton moved the vehicle in the road, but said they did not know whether the engine was running. Both men immediately got off the scooter when police pulled up to speak to them.

The officers noticed the keys were in the ignition of the machine and smelled alcohol on Stanton’s breath.

He was arrested and a breathalyser test showed he had 94mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, nearly three times the legal limit.

For Stanton, Liam Hassan said he was “a young man with no previous convictions or points on his licence”, who “made a very stupid error”.

Mr Hassan told Selby magistrates it had not been Stanton’s intention to drive the 50cc scooter that night, but to walk alongside it to his friend’s home nearby.

The keys had only been in the ignition to unlock the steering column.

The court heard Stanton had plans to move in with his girlfriend.

He was about to start work in Sherburn-in-Elmet, and if his licence was revoked, he would have to continue living with his parents.

Sentencing Stanton, magistrate Ian Franks said: “It was a really stupid thing to do.

“We are taking into consideration that you are about to start a job and public transport would be a problem for you, so on this occasion we are not going to ban you outright.”

Stanton was given ten points on his licence and ordered to pay a £100 fine, £85 prosecution costs, and a £15 victim surcharge.