A MAN has been banned from the roads for drink-driving a mobility scooter in York city centre.

James Patrick Collins had more than four times the legal amount of alcohol in his breath as he steered the vehicle along Coppergate on April 27, York Magistrates Court heard.

He was banned from driving any vehicle for three years.

Collins, 54, of Anne Street, central York, pleaded guilty to drink driving a mobility scooter.

The court heard he blew a breath test that gave a reading of 156 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

In addition to the driving ban, he was fined £200, ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £30 statutory surcharge.

The case was adjourned from earlier this month while lawyers for Collins and the Crown Prosecution Service checked to see if people driving mobility scooters could be banned for not observing drink driving restrictions.

On his return to court, after hearing from the lawyers that mobility scooter drivers could be banned from driving, magistrates handed out the three-year ban.

Cyclists can be convicted of an offence if they ride a pedal bicycle after having too much to drink, but because bicycles don’t have an engine and are therefore not “mechanically propelled” they are not liable to be banned from driving.