A BANNED driver was caught behind the wheel of a BMW in a Herefordshire street.

Steven James Clements appeared before magistrates for sentencing after admitting driving while disqualified at a previous hearing.

His sentencing had been adjourned for a pre-sentencing report to be carried out by probation.

Police had spotted Clements behind the wheel of a BMW in Ross-on-Wye's Walford Road at 3pm on November 11, prosecutor Shafquat Reaz said.

Clements was spoken to at the roadside before being taken to Hereford Police Station for further checks to be carried out.

George Cousins, for Clements, said the probation officer's report, which was not read out in court, had been quite sympathetic to the 37-year-old's plight.

Magistrates told Clements that they had read the report and could empathise with the situation he had found himself in, but that he had made the wrong decision and must now deal with the consequences.

Clements, of Woodedge, Ross-on-Wye, was handed a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work and six penalty points. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £95 victim surcharge.