A MOTORIST who gave his neighbour an early morning lift while he was over the drink drive limit has been banned from driving.

Robin Allan, 30, appeared before York Crown Court on Friday after he was convicted at York Magistrates’ Court on December 12 of drink driving.

Allan, of Gale Lane, Acomb, was serving a suspended sentence for possession of cannabis when a marked police vehicle saw his black BMW driving in St Leonard’s Place and Gillygate at just after 5am on December 3.

The court heard the officer in the police vehicle said Allan’s car was “going from side to side and crossing the broken white lines in the middle of the road”, and “came to an immediate stop” when he spotted the police van.

The officer pulled Allan over and breathalysed him, then took him to the police station where he provided breath tests of 69mg and 62mg per 100ml of breath - the legal limit is 35mg per 100ml.

Neil Cutte, for Allan, said the evening before his arrest his client had been at his mother’s house and had drunk alcohol following the death of a relative.

Mr Cutte said: “He got to his home address at about 10.30pm. A neighbour woke him very early as he was told he wasn’t able to get a taxi to Acomb at about 4am.

“The defendant thought, having slept, the alcohol in his system wouldn’t be there and would be safe to drive. He was heading back to his home address when the vehicle was stopped.”

Mr Cutte said Allan disputed that the car was crossing the white lines, said there was no allegation of excessive speeding, and his client was “sorry to have committed the offence”. He said Allan was currently looking after two children, and encouraged the judge to consider a non-custodial sentence.

Judge Stubbs QC said there would not be a lot of traffic or pedestrians in the area at the time of the offence, but although Allan believed he was “doing a good turn” for his neighbour, the act was unacceptable - particularly considering the amount of effort North Yorkshire Police and other road safety groups put in to warning against drink driving.

He said: “Amongst the publicity all drivers see, especially at this time of year, you chose to drive with a significant amount of alcohol in your system.

“The court finds it difficult to accept anyone of this level in breath could believe they were not affected by alcohol.”

Allan was given credit for early guilty plea, and banned from driving for 17 months. He was offered and accepted a driver rehabilitation course which would reduce the length of his disqualification.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of £120 for drink driving, a fine of £10 for breach of a suspended sentence, and a victim surcharge.