FORMER world champion Steve Cram was banned from driving yesterday after magistrates ignored his pleas that it would cause problems in his complicated private life.

The 43-year-old Olympic silver medallist was stopped by police for having too many people in his Mercedes sports car.

He already had nine points on his licence for speeding and faced a ban under the totting-up procedure.

Cram, who left his wife of 20 years, Karen, 42, last year for 400m runner Alison Curbishley, 26, said a ban would stop him seeing his children.

Cram's argument that he needed a car for his charity work was also rejected, and he was banned from the road for six months.

In July last year, shortly after his marriage broke up, police stopped the former 1500m World Champion on Newcastle Quayside.

He had four people in the rear seat. One was lying across the laps of the others.

Bob Reeves, prosecuting, said the extra person infringed road safety laws.

Cram admitted the offence of carrying excess passengers, but said he should not be banned.

He told Newcastle magistrates: "Being unable to drive would make it extremely difficult to see my children.

"The relationship I have with my wife is such that my wife would not take kindly to my partner taking me to pick up my kids.

"I would, however, try extremely hard to continue contact with my children if I was banned today.

"My children are very important to me. My partner lives with me, however her work also means she is away an awful lot and for me to see my children as regularly as I would normally would cause me extreme difficulty.

"When I am at home on personal business, I am able to drive to my wife's house in Morpeth and pick up my son.

"The same goes for my daughter. She is at boarding school in the Midlands and my work commitments usually clash with school holidays."

He said losing his licence would not affect his work as a BBC sports presenter, and said: "It is not a prerequisite to drive a car."

But he said that as chairman of the Institute of Sport, he travelled across the country for meetings in his spare time with other board members to discuss the charity's work.

Cram, who lives in Ryal, Northumberland, said: "Being disqualified from driving, I would have to consider my position."

Zoe Passfield, in mitigation, told the court how Cram had been at a stag night at a Newcastle hotel.

She said the group went to the Quayside but that because Cram was not drinking, he offered to give people a lift.

Ms Passfield said he felt it impolite to ask only one person to get out and make their way to the Quayside.

Cram was fined £60 with £30 costs and banned from driving for six months.