THE head coach of Featherstone Rovers has been spared a driving ban at York Magistrates Court. 

Harrogate-based former Great Britain and England rugby league international Brian McDermott was clocked breaking the 60 mph speed limit on the A59 between Harrogate and Skipton on July 16 last year.

The former Leeds Rhinos coach tried to persuade York magistrates not to put points on his licence without success.

The three penalty points they gave him meant that he should have been disqualified under the totting-up provisions because he already had points on his licence.

But  magistrates decided that he would suffer extraordinary hardship if he did and allowed him to keep on driving.

McDermott, 52, of Knoxmill Close, Harrogate, pleaded guilty to speeding at more than 60 mph. He was fined £307 and ordered to pay a £34 statutory surcharge and £85 prosecution costs. He took over as head coach of Featherstone Rovers last autumn.

He told magistrates he couldn’t do his job if he was restricted to public transport and that he drove more than 40,000 miles a year.

He claimed he would "struggle to obtain alternative employment which would allow him to sustain his living" if he lost his job through a driving ban.