A VAN driver has been told he is a danger to the public after committing a string of offences in Hereford.

Joshua Howells entered guilty pleas to one count of failing to stop when required by a constable, one of driving while disqualified, one of driving without insurance, and one of driving while over the alcohol limit when he appeared before magistrates in December.

The court heard from prosecutor Thomas Wickstead that Howells, who was represented at the hearing by defence solicitor Mark Sheward, had failed to stop when required to do so by a constable in uniform while he was behind the wheel of a Ford Transit Connect van in Hereford's Faraday Road on December 20.

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The 28-year-old had been driving while disqualified, without a valid third party insurance policy in place, and while over the drink-driving limit on that date, magistrates in Kidderminster were told.

An evidential breath test revealed that he had 53 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Magistrates said the offences were serious as it was his third offence of the kind this year and he had driven in breach of court orders.

"You are a danger to the public when you decide to drive on the road," magistrates told Howells.

Howells, of Duke Street, Kington, was handed a 12-week prison sentence, which magistrates suspended for 12 months saying that there was a realistic prospect that he could be rehabilitated in the community.

He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, disqualified from driving for 40 months, and must pay prosecution costs of £135.