A MOTORIST, prosecuted for going the wrong way on a motorway slip road, blamed bonking ostriches for his dangerous driving.

Sam Bibb, 20, hit another car head-on after his blunder on the A1(M), York Crown Court heard.

But his barrister, Jeremy Lindsay, said bright lights on the busy junction at Bramham had been dimmed and he could not see where he was going.

The lights had been turned down, said Mr Lindsay, because they confused birds at a nearby ostrich farm and the shy creatures refused to mate with the light on. "As a result, Bibb could not see where he was in the dark and became totally disorientated."

Mr Lindsay added: "A policeman at the scene told the accused, as they stood alongside his up-turned car, it was very dark in the area because the power of the overhead road lights had been reduced.

"He explained this had been done to facilitate the breeding cycle of ostriches at a farm close by as the high-powered lights badly affected them."

Bibb, of Castleford, West Yorkshire, who was returning home after a night out in York, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was given a 120 hour community punishment order. He was also banned from driving for 12 months.

Last night, the Highways Agency said: "We are not aware of any request to dim the lighting on the Al(M) in the Bramham area to aid ostrich breeding."