AN ABERPORTH man has escaped a driving ban under the totting procedure for speeding after magistrates heard he would lose his job if he was disqualified.

Michael Sabiston, of 6 Ffordd y Bedol, appeared before Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court on 9 March.

The 49-year-old pleaded guilty to travelling at 78mph in a Ford Transit van on a 50mph stretch of the M62 on 14 March last year.

Magistrates fined him £276 and endorsed his licence with six points.

Sabiston avoided a driving ban under the totting procedure because he “will lose his job” and “will not be able to give lift to his friends who are getting treatment for alcohol abstinence,” magistrates ruled.

Sabiston must also pay a surcharge of £34.