A LANDSCAPE gardener banned from driving by magistrates has won back his licence after claiming his new business was at risk.

Burnley Crown Court heard that Craig Stubbs, 36, of Wheatley Lane Road, Fence, had earlier been ordered off the road for six months under the totting up procedure.

He appealed against the sentence of the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Magistrates and Recorder Anthony McLoughlin and two magistrates lifted the disqualification.

The court was told he had been banned for using an uninsured vehicle.

Alex Leach, for Stubbs, said he had made a foolish and short sighted decision to put his limited finances into his business rather than the appropriate motoring documents.

In his early 20s, Stubbs was a man with a criminal record. He had also had a period of personal difficulties and had not worked for 10 years.

He had then decided to set up a small business, had invested a great deal in it and it had gathered significant momentum. The business would end if he did not have his driving licence.