A MOTORIST can stay on the roads, despite clocking up 20 points on his licence.

Peter Cox, 24, avoided a driving ban even though he had eight points more than the amount which usually leads to a six-month disqualification.

Cox, of Morris Avenue, Jaywick, convinced Colchester magistrates he would endure “exceptional hardship” if he was banned, as his job involved driving 2,500 miles a week.

Cox had been convicted of careless driving and driving not in accordance with his licence, after an incident on October 18, 2007. He was also convicted of driving without insurance on November 13, 2008.

On Friday, he admitted failing to appear in court on March 24 and April 22 this year.

Ian Allen, prosecuting, told the court Cox was involved in a collision on October 18, 2007, while driving a white van.

He said: “The vehicle moved towards the nearside of the road and then pulled back across, colliding with a coach travelling in the same direction.

“The van was pulling a trailer, but the defendant had a category B licence when the vehicle required a C1+E category.”

He said Cox was taken to hospital after the accident, and police tried, repeatedly, to contact him for an interview.

On September 13, 2008, he was stopped by police in Clacton, while driving a car, and was found to have no insurance.

Philippa Beswick, mitigating, said Cox knew he already had a number of points on his licence and, under court rules, this could lead to a driving ban.

She said: “We would like to draw your attention to his case of exceptional hardship. He is second-in-command at the company he works for, and he does about 2,500 miles a week.

“They do a lot of contract work for local authorities, and these contracts involve penalties if the work is not completed. So, if he were to lose his licence, work could be delayed, or stopped, and this could affect the whole company.”

Magistrates fined Cox £150 for careless driving. He was given four penalty points and his licence was endorsed for driving without the appropriate licence.

He was also fined £250 for driving without insurance, and eight points were added to his licence.

Magistrates warned he would be disqualified if he appeared before the court again.