Banned danger driver jailed after being caught on camera at wheel of Audi

Connar King, 29, was seen driving an Audi by a policeman who knew him and captured clearly on CCTV.

King, 29, of Carley Road, Southwick, breached his disqualification on Thursday, December 8, in Dairy Lane, Houghton, a court heard.

His offence came less than five months after he was banned from the roads for two years for dangerous driving.

Magistrates in South Tyneside told King the public needed protecting from him – and put him behind bars for eight weeks.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson said: “Mr King appeared before the courts in July last year for the offence of dangerous driving.

“He was disqualified for two years and until a mandatory extended test is passed.

“On December 8 he was seen driving by an officer who knows who he is and on CCTV, which was extremely clear.

“He goes into a shop and doesn’t come out of the shop to the car. He pleads guilty today.

“It’s high culpability because it’s relatively shortly after his original ban was imposed, but probably lesser harm.

“There’s no evidence of distance travelled. He is seen for a short distance and then parks up. Clearly he’s certainly at risk of the custody band being passed.”

Furniture factory worker King pleaded guilty to charges of driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

Paul Armstrong, defending, urged magistrates not to jail King, insisting a suspended prison term was a suitable punishment.

He added: “Mr King accepts that he was aware that there was a ban in place and that he shouldn’t have been behind the wheel.

“He has shown that he can comply with court orders. This was a silly offence.

“I have to accept that it’s high culpability because it was shortly after his ban, but he was only seen driving in the garage.

“The crown can’t present evidence of how far he had driven.

“He’s in employment, he has a job, there are other ways that this man can be punished without custody.”

Magistrates also banned King from driving for 13 months, to run concurrently to his existing ban, and ordered him to pay a £154 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

Gordon Murphy, chair of the bench, told King the “public needed protecting” from him.

He added: “We thought long and hard about what is to happen to you today, and we found the offence to be so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified.”