MAGISTRATES heard a soldier would struggle to do his second job as a butler if he was disqualified from driving.

Evin Fitzpatrick, 26, had been convicted of driving without insurance at a previous hearing and given a £660 fine with six points on his licence. But the Swindon bench heard he should have faced a ban because records from the DVLA later revealed he already had nine points.

The MOD Lyneham-based soldier, who is currently training to be a craftsman, was stopped on the M4 near junction 17 on April 8 when his BMW car triggered the number plate recognition system in a police car, flagging up the fact it was not insured, said police prosecutor Mary Reason.

Checks later revealed it had lapsed and not been renewed. He admitted the charge.

Fitzpatrick told the magistrates on Tuesday he had been in the army for seven years and was retraining as a craftsman at the Defence College of Technical Training.

But he had a second job as a butler at weekends and had to drive to events. Losing his licence would make it impossible for him to do that and he would struggle to pay the bills.

Lt Bradley Wilkinson, defending him, said a ban would prevent him from being deployed when his training ended early next year because he would be expected to drive.

Fitzpatrick had been in the parachute regiment before becoming an engineer. A ban would mean a hold on his career and he would have to re-trade.

Magistrates found there were no exceptional circumstances for him to keep his licence and they banned him for six months.

But because the original fine had been imposed in his absence they reduced it to £422 with prosecution costs and £42 towards victim services.