A MOTORIST who has admitted driving while disqualified and while over the limit for alcohol said he committed the offences because he needed to see his poorly grandmother.

Duncan Hamilton, 34, was caught on April 16 on the M6 Motorway near Carlisle, the city's Rickergate court heard. Prosecutor Pam Ward said officers stopped the defendant’s VW Caddy because his driving was “erratic.”

He came to the attention of police as he drove past Junction 42 on the motorway’s northbound carriageway.

The defendant pleaded guilty to both the allegations he faced but his defence barrister told magistrates that Hamilton’s decision to drive that day was prompted by concern for his grandmother.

He knew that his grandmother was ill but had been told that her condition was worsening and so he wanted to be at her said, said Matthew Hopkins, defending.

Hamilton also accepted that this was not in law a reasonable excuse for his actions on April 16. A police breath test confirmed that the time he had 62mcg of alcohol in 100mls of breath.

The legal limit for driving is 35mcg.

Presiding magistrate Keith Southward told Hamilton: “We have listened to everything that has been said and I’m sure that you realise the stupidity of the action you took.”

The magistrate said that before passing sentence he and his colleagues wanted to see a background report on the defendant, which will be prepared by the Probation Service. They adjourned the case until May 23.

In the meantime, the defendant, of Main Road, Kirkoswald, Maybole, South Ayrshire, was given an interim driving ban and granted bail until he is back before the court.