POLICE responding to a report of a domestic incident in South Craven found a man asleep in a car parked in a layby in Glusburn.

Gordon Turner, 38, who had been drinking, was arrested for being drunk in charge of a car. He was further charged with using a vehicle without an MOT certificate or insurance, heard Skipton Magistrates Court.

Turner, of previous good character, admitted all three charges when he appeared at court today (Friday).

The court heard it was the early hours of November 13 when after responding to a report of a domestic incident police had found Turner parked in Malsis Drive.

He was asleep in the driver’s seat, the keys were in the ignition and the side lights were on, although the engine was not running, the court was told.

The officer woke Turner up and discovered both the insurance and MOT on his vehicle had expired. He was taken to Harrogate Police Station where he was found to have 101 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit for driving is 35.

In mitigation, Jane Nield said Turner had been at the home of his girlfriend nearby, they had argued, he had gone to his car, which was parked in a layby near the former Malsis School, and had fallen asleep.

She said Turner had put the keys in the ignition and turned the key to the first stage of the starting process so he could put his phone onto charge.

She added he had not driven the vehicle, but accepted he had been in the driver’s seat and had at the time been in charge of it.

Miss Nield said Turner had not known the vehicle was uninsured as he paid by direct debit and had believed it had been automatically renewed. His MOT had been just 10 days overdue, and was normally done by a friend, both offences he accepted. He worked for an electrical firm, did a lot of travelling, and needed his vehicle to work.

Turner, of Fieldhead Road, Guiseley, was banned from driving for four months and fined £457. He was also ordered to pay costs of £85 and a surcharge of £183.