A SILSDEN man who believed he was safe to drive after using his own breathalyser was almost twice the alcohol limit when he was stopped by police in Skipton.

Daniel Lister, 45, was stopped in Brougham Street by officers at 11.30am on September 20 after they had received information about a male who was driving and who was believed to have been drinking, heard Skipton Magistrates Court on Friday.

Lister was stopped and following a positive road side test was taken to a police station where he was found to have 69 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Lister, who admitted guilt, had a previous conviction for drink driving 14 years ago, but nothing since, the court heard.

He told the court that he would never have got into his car, after receiving a call from a friend who was in distress, if he had thought for one minute that he was over the drink-drive limit.

He admitted to having had a drink the night before and had used his own ‘pocket breathalyser’ that had shown he was fit to drive, which he had bought following his previous drink driving offence.

“It obviously gave me a false reading,” he said.

Magistrates told him that he had clearly got a false reading from the piece of equipment and should get rid of it.

Lister, of New Road, Silsden, was banned from driving for 18 months, fined £120 with costs of £85 and a surcharge of £34. If he completes a drink drivers rehabilitation course his ban will be reduced by 18 weeks.