A MOTORIST has been banned from the roads for a second time for drink driving, just 10 months after getting his licence back.

Diego Miguel Ferrera Filipe, of Claro Road, Harrogate, appeared at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court on Monday and was banned from driving for 40 months, was ordered to pay more than £700 in fines and costs and to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

The 35-year-old, who has a previous conviction for drink driving in May 2015, had been back on the road for just ten months, after serving a 14-month driving ban for that offence, when he was stopped by police in the early hours of July 16 last year, on the A59 near Knaresborough.

Officers were alerted to his erratic driving on the A648 near Huby by a member of the public.

When they tracked him down and pulled him over, Filipe failed a roadside breath test and was arrested on suspicion of driving with alcohol over the specified limit.

He was taken back to Harrogate Police Station, where he failed to provide a breath specimen for analysis and was subsequently charged with the offence.

In court, Filipe pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath specimen for analysis.

After the hearing, North Yorkshire Police traffic constable David Minto said: "Firstly I’d like to thank the member of the public who contacted police to report Filipe’s driving. I’m sure her quick actions prevented a potentially devastating incident from occurring that morning.

"It’s clear to see that Diego Filipe is a repeat offender and has not learned from his previous drink driving conviction. To have been stopped for the same offence, after only having his licence back for ten months beggars belief. He clearly has no regard for the safety of others on the road, or himself.

"This sentence should be a stark reminder to him and other motorists of a like mind, that this irresponsible and selfish behaviour will not be tolerated on the roads of North Yorkshire."