Man drove car while 'walking' dog in County Durham

A County Durham man caught walking his lurcher through the window of his moving car has lost his licence.

Paul Railton, 23, of Annfield Plain, admitted breaching two counts of the Road Traffic Act, at Consett Magistrates Court on Monday.

Police caught Railton driving his car with the dog lead attached through the window, after being alerted in Stoney Heap Lane by a cyclist.

Magistrates fined Railton a total of £124 and gave him three penalty points.

Railton was disqualified from driving for six months as he already had nine points on his licence, three for speeding and six for an insurance offence.

Under the totting up procedure, he had 12 points and had to be disqualified.

In mitigation, his solicitor, Paul Donoghue, said: "He accepts it was a silly thing to do, borne out with an element of laziness."

He said Railton was driving slowly and that Stoney Heap Lane was a very quiet back-road.