A FORMER driving instructor has lost his appeal against a driving ban imposed for speeding.

Stephen Gary Perie, 38, was handed a six-month totting-up disqualification last month for travelling at 80mph on a 70mph dual carriageway stretch of the A590 at Meathop in March. He already had nine on his licence for previous speeding offences.

Perie’s appeal against the ban was heard at Carlisle Crown Court.

Judge David Potter and two magistrates heard Perie, of Holly House Cottages, Barber Green, near Grange, lived in a 'distinctly rural area' several miles from the nearest shop.

The closest bus stop was a 15-minute walk away, although the court heard Perie suffered from a long-standing knee problem for which is awaiting keyhole surgery.

Perie agreed with his lawyer, Jeff Smith, that a divorce and separation from his wife and family, in 2014, had turned his life 'upside down'.

Formerly a driving instructor, the father-of-three had sold cars before suffering a nervous breakdown, stress and anxiety. Latterly he was reliant on Universal Credit.

Perie confirmed to Mr Smith he was now looking to secure work as a maintenance/handy man in a bid to lift himself out of the 'poverty trap', but needed to drive.

“Can you imagine any way in which you can generate any income if that disqualification continues?” Mr Smith asked.

“Not where I live, no,” Perie replied.

Mr Smith asked: “How do you face, mentally, the future without a driving licence for the next five months?”

Perie responded: “I think it would be pretty bleak. It would be a struggle.”

Mr Smith spoke of Perie being 'hamstrung' by the present situation. “I submit this is not just hardship, but exceptional hardship,” he said. “It is not just a case of a job or a career. It is an inability to function at any level.”

But after retiring briefly, the appeal panel concluded Perie’s appeal should be dismissed.

Judge Potter accepted it was a 'finely balanced case', but stated magistrates who imposed the driving ban had been 'entirely right' to do so.