Banned driver behind the wheel of a stolen car

Craig Michael Porter (35), who has a record after being ordered off the road, had been disqualified until he took supposedly an extended retest almost 16 years ago - a test, it turns out, he had never taken.

Burnley magistrates were told how Porter wanted the vehicle - a Mercedes C320 - to get work, learning that he bought it with his benefits cash. The vehicle was subsequently taken back off him by the police and he had ended up without any money.

The defendant could now be facing jail after admitting to driving whilst disqualified and using an uninsured vehicle on Rossendale Road in Burnley on June 6th.

The defendant, of Lindsay Street in Burnley, was bailed until July 18th for an all-options open pre-sentence report, telling the bench: "I know I have got a bad record."

Mr Daniel Frazer, defending, told the hearing Porter had tried his best to get himself on the straight and narrow, and that - despite being sent to jail for quite some time in 2014 before being released in May 2015 - he had potential jobs lined up, including doing up a house.

"He tried to get himself a vehicle so he could get back into work," the solicitor added. "He saved up out of his benefits money. He thought his licence had been reinstated. The car was taken back off him and returned to its rightful owner. He lost the money."

"He was disqualified until he took an extended retest," Mr Frazer added. "He hasn't done that. Because he has not driven for a quite a long period of time, he thought his disqualification had finished."