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X Factor contestant Chico denies drink driving

PA Media Chico arriving at court, wearing a brown cowboy hat with a silver cattle head adornment. He wears a black furry coat with no shirt on underneath and holds a mobile phone.PA Media
Chico Slimani arrived at court wearing a cowboy hat and fur coat

Former X Factor contestant Chico has appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to drink driving.

The 54-year-old, whose real name is Yousseph Slimani, appeared in the 2005 series of the TV talent show and later released a number one single, It's Chico Time.

Mr Slimani, who arrived at Willesden Magistrates' Court wearing a cowboy hat and fur coat, had consumed cough medicine - which can impact a reading's accuracy - his defence said.

He was bailed until his trial on 9 April.

The singer, who is accused of drink driving in Southgate, north London, on 13 December, registered a breath reading of 40 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the court heard.

The legal limit of alcohol for driving in England is 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres.

Mr Slimani was born in Bridgend and moved to his father's native Morocco as a young child, where he helped look after goats on his grandparents' farm.

He now runs a form of guided meditation involving "ancient sounds that are the origin of the universe and help to bring inner peace and tranquillity", according to his website.

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