A BANNED driver who got behind the wheel after his girlfriend abandoned their car in the middle of the A49 has been handed a suspended sentence.

Kristian Lee Jones Davies admitted driving while disqualified and without insurance when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Police had been on patrol in Leominster's Southern Avenue when they saw a Peugeot turn into Enterprise Way at 4.30pm on May 19, prosecutor Ralph Robyns Landricombe said.

They followed the car as it turned into Brierley Way before turning into a yard belonging to C&K Motors and parking behind a caravan.

But when officers got to the car, driver Jones Davies was not there.

CCTV showed both Jones Davies and a passenger getting out of the car and hiding behind other cars in the area while waiting for police to leave.

Officers recognised Jones Davies from the footage and he was arrested two days later on May 21.

In interview Jones Davies, who had previously been banned from driving until April 2023, said he had been a passenger at first as his girlfriend had been driving.

But the pair had rowed and he had got behind the wheel intending to drive it to a safe place after she had abandoned the car in the middle of the road.

Chris Read, for Jones Davies, said the 31-year-old had been one of four people in the car when his girlfriend had stopped and got out on the A49.

"This left him in a bit of a quandary as to what he should do," Mr Read said.

"He decided to drive it off the main road to C&K Motors 200 metres away. He pulled in there because he knew he should not be driving and wanted to put it somewhere safe.

Jones Davies, of Ridgemoor Road, Leominster, was handed a 12 week prison sentence, suspended for two years and 190 hours of unpaid work, and was disqualified from driving for five years. He must also pay costs of £155 and a £95 victim surcharge