A BORDERS motorist has escaped a driving ban following an incident involving a cyclist on the A701 road near Lamancha.

Selkirk Sheriff Court heard that Stewart Hennessey, from Broughton, already had six penalty points on his driving licence when he narrowly passed the cyclist, an off-duty police officer, at excessive speed on the afternoon of April 27.

The incident was caught by the cyclist's helmet camera and he was able to shout out the licence plate number which would be recorded on the camera's audio equipment.

The 56-year-old journalist was initially charged with dangerous driving and if convicted that would have meant an automatic disqualification from the road.

Before a trial was due to take place, his plea to a charge of careless driving was accepted by the Crown.

Sheriff Peter Paterson imposed a fine of £450 but limited the number of penalty points to five which meant Hennessey avoided a ban under the points totting-up procedure.

A £20 victim surcharge was also imposed.