A HUNTINGDON man who had previously been imprisoned for ignoring driving bans last week escaped a further jail sentence for a similar offence. Darren Jones, 37, of Thames Road, had admitted driving while disqualified and without insurance or a test certif

A HUNTINGDON man who had previously been imprisoned for ignoring driving bans last week escaped a further jail sentence for a similar offence.

Darren Jones, 37, of Thames Road, had admitted driving while disqualified and without insurance or a test certificate.

His lawyer, Fred Sagoe, said his client had no fear of prison and was resigned to custody if that were the decision of Huntingdonshire magistrates. But he pleaded that imprisonment would do nothing to change Jones's behaviour in the way that supervision by the Probation Service could.

Jones had been stopped by police in Ambury Road, Huntingdon, two days before Christmas last year after they noticed a headlight was out and his foglights were on. A check with the police national computer disclosed that he had been banned for a year last March under the totting-up procedure.

Mr Sagoe told the court: "A pattern of driving has emerged and it has to be broken.

"Going to prison will not sort his problem with driving. It can properly be dealt with by a community order."

The magistrates agreed. They made an 18-month order, including 18 months' supervision by the Probation Service, 100 hours' unpaid community work and a requirement to attend a Drinksense course. They added an additional 50 hours' unpaid work for a breach of a previous conditional discharge, which Jones admitted, and imposed a further 12-months driving ban.