A PROPERTY tycoon caught speeding at 94mph has told a court he should not be banned despite having 13 points on his licence because it would cause him "exceptional hardship".

Cosmo Molinaro, 47, told the court he owned 16 flats in Dundee and had recently handed over nearly £300,000 cash to buy a house for his former partner. But he claimed that if he was banned he would have to pay off a member of staff at his newly opened fish and chip shop to pay for a driver.

Molinaro, of Carluke, South Lanarkshire, admitted driving at 94mph on the M90 between Perth and Inverkeithing on April 4 last year.

Perth's Justice of the Peace Court was told he already had nine live points on his licence at the time and a further four points were added for the latest speeding offence. JP Eve Forrest rejected Molinaro's plea and banned him from the road for six months. She said: "In your case there is hardship, but exceptional hardship has not been proved."