AN ADDINGHAM man with 17 points on his driving licence has escaped a ban after magistrates accepted he would suffer exceptional hardship.

Andrew Tapsell, 62 owner of Tapsell Carpets, received eight penalty points and was ordered to pay £1,002 in fines and costs after earlier admitting putting false plates on one of his two Mitsubishi Shoguns , and using it without insurance and without a test certificate.

The Skipton court was told Tapsell's 15 employees faced possible redundancy if the business suffered as a result of him not being able to drive to his customers, often out of hours. His elderly mother would also suffer if he was unable to visit her in Skipton on a daily basis.

Tapsell had earlier admitted at another court fraud by false representation by attaching the registration number plate from one Mitsubishi Shogun in his ownership to another one in order to drive it from Addingham to Skipton, where it was reported.

In mitigation, John Mewies said Tapsell had bought a second Shogun with the intention of using it for spares for his main vehicle.

It had been delivered to his home in Addingham, but Tapsell had been forced to move it elsewhere because his wife was unhappy about having it outside the house.

"He foolishly got some number plates made from the original Shogun, attached them with a rubber band and drove it to his mother's house in Skipton, " said Mr Mewies.

The Shogun was parked in his mother's driveway on May 15 with the number plates still attached with rubber bands when it was brought to the attention of the police, added Mr Mewies. His client had then gone to the police station himself and admitted the vehicle was uninsured and had no MOT certificate.

Tapsell, who the court heard drove up to 200 miles a day, was forced to work anti-social hours for his hotel and restaurant trade customers, making it difficult for him to get a driver.

The current nine points on his licence had all been for speeding in 30mph zones and had been spread over three years, the court was told.

In accepting his exceptional hardship argument, because of the impact on his employees and mother, magistrates told Tapsell, of Church Street, Addingham, that the 'Sword of Damocles' now hang over his head and that any new penalty point would be likely to result in a driving ban.

He received eight penalty points - taking him to 17, five over the maximum 12 allowed_and was fined £834, with costs of £85 and surcharge of £83.