A BANNED Hereford man was caught flouting his ban for the second time after getting behind the wheel of an Audi.

Mateusz Lak admitted one count of driving while disqualified and one of driving without insurance when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford in October.

Police had stopped Lak behind the wheel of a black Audi A5 in Hereford's Belmont Road just after 7am on September 14, prosecutor Eleanor Peart said.

Lak initially gave false details, but was soon identified, and checks revealed he is disqualified from driving until March next year.

He was arrested and taken to Hereford police station, where he told officers in interview that he knew he had been banned and admitted driving without insurance.

Lak has a previous conviction for driving while disqualified, Miss Peart said.

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Marilena Di Vitantonio, for self employed carpenter Lak, said the 27-year-old works in Worcester and usually gets a lift from a friend.

"But that day his lift let him down, so he decided to drive from Belmont Road to KFC, where he would be picked up by someone who would take him to Worcester so he could go to work," she said.

Miss Di Vitantonio said there was no evidence of bad driving and that Lak, who was accompanied by an interpreter in court, said the false details may have been due to a miscommunication.

The court heard from a probation report that Lak had originally been banned from the roads for drink driving, but that apart from his repeated driving while disqualified, he is a fairly settled person who works and pays taxes.

Lak, of Glastonbury Close, Belmont, was handed an eight week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months and disqualified from driving for 14 months. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £154 victim surcharge.

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