AN I’m A Celebrity star has revealed he has been left “infuriated” after being banned from driving at the age of 76.
Christopher Biggins, who appeared on the ITV reality show in 2009, has hit out at the DVLA for revoking his license.
Biggins has been booted off the roads and banned from driving[/caption]
The actor and panto star was informed earlier this year that his driving licence had expired and as such would need an eye test in order to get it back.
The Daily Mail reports how Biggins went to an optician in Stratford, East London for his eye examination but soon discovered that he had failed and as such had been banned from driving with immediate effect due to no longer having a valid licence.
Confirming the situation, Biggins said: “Ten days later [after the eye test], I got a letter from the DVLA saying I had failed my test and I wouldn’t be getting my license back.”
Furious at the decision, Biggins decided to book himself in for further eye tests.
This included a visit to a doctor at Homerton Hospital who informed him he had a clean bill of health as well as a second visit at a seperate opticions.
Both practitioners provided Biggins with letters to support their findings which he sent off to the DVLA – but the driving association refused to give the TV star his licence back and argued that what he had provided “does not show that you are able to meet the required medical standards for driving”.
With Biggins maintaining that his eye sight has never changed, he has blasted the DVLA and said their decision has left him “depressed” and out-of-pocket after having to stump up regularly for taxis.
He told the Mail: “How can they disregard a hospital doctor and another optician? It has left me very depressed.
“I travel a lot and I need to drive. Not long distance, for that I take the train.
“It is costing me a fortune in taxis. It is very unfair. I’m absolutely infuriated with their ‘computer says no’ attitude.”
It comes after the Labour government revealed their plans for drivers over the age of 70 to undergo mandatory eye tests every three years in order to prove they have sufficient eyesight to be on the roads.
Further driving proposals also include reducing the drink-drive limit and tougher penalties on uninsured drivers and those who fail to wear a seatbelt.
They will belong to a new road safety strategy that the government plans to publish this autumn.
The change would mark the biggest shake-up of driving rules for nearly two decades, since the Road Safety Act introduced under Tony Blair in 2006.
In response, a spokesperson for the DVLA told the Mail of Biggins’ case: “While we cannot comment on individual cases, all drivers must meet minimum eyesight standards to drive a vehicle.
“Whether a driver meets the eyesight standards can be tested through various means, including visual field and acuity, depending on the circumstances.
“These standards apply to all drivers and, if someone does not meet the required standards they cannot be allowed on the road.”
The decision has left the star ‘depressed’[/caption]