A 60-year-old Churcham motorist caught using a mobile phone at the wheel has avoided a driving ban for the sake of his elderly mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s.

Cheltenham Magistrates decided not to disqualify Terry Smith of Oaktree Park under the ‘totting up’ procedure, because his mother, who lives with him, needs him to drive her to hospital appointments and there are no transport alternatives.

Smith admitted driving a Volvo S60 on Barton Street, Gloucester, on January 19 while using a hand-held phone.

He was fined £166 and ordered to pay £90 costs and a £34 surcharge. His driving licence was endorsed with six penalty points.