A MOTORIST will come back before Powys magistrates next month in the hope of saving himself a driving ban.

David Anthony Mellor appeared at Llandrindod Wells Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, July 6, to answer a charge of failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver of a Mercedes Panel Van. Mellor, 44, was alleged to have been guilty of speeding in Powys on New Year’s Eve last year and, due to having nine points on his licence already, he is liable to be disqualified as a totter.

Mellor, of Newnham Drive, Ellesmere Port, had intended to plead a case of exceptional hardship at the hearing, but told magistrates he was not even aware of the nine points being on his licence. He said the first he knew of any points or court proceedings was when he received a letter in the post informing him he had been convicted of the December offence in April this year and that the court was considering a driving ban.

The self-employed delivery driver told the court: “I’m trying to start my own delivery company. I drive 5 days a week from Cheshire to Carmarthen.

“I’m a single parent to a 13-year-old son who’s just moved in with me. He has just received acceptable grades to be able to move in with me and I’m trying to show him the way how to live, is to work, so to ban me would set me right back.” 

Mellor, who has been self-employed for six months, said he was currently going through a divorce and suggested the change of address or mail not getting delivered to him due to his ex-partner were possible reasons for delays and confusion.

He added: “A ban would put me in financial distress. I would struggle to live on what the government would provide me. I would have to move out of where I live and further away if I lost my licence as I wouldn’t be able to afford where I live. My son also goes to cadets round the corner from the house.”

Magistrates opted to adjourn the case until August 31, to provide Mellor with the opportunity to get in touch with the court where his previous matters were heard, to see if they could be reopened.