A DRUG addict who has ten convictions for driving while disqualified is once again prohibited from getting behind the wheel today after crashing a car while high on ketamine.

A DRUG addict who has ten convictions for driving while disqualified is once again prohibited from getting behind the wheel today after crashing a car while high on ketamine.

Magistrates banned Michael Vincent from the road until 2014 after hearing how the 37-year-old's car mounted a kerb and ploughed into a bollard in Ipswich.

The crash took place on May 15 - only hours after he had been released from police custody following his arrest a day earlier for disorderly behaviour.

Officers had been called to Vincent's then home in Shetland Close, Ipswich following reports of a disturbance. He was found partially clothed and clearly drunk in the front garden, and was detained after being abusive to officers.

After his release, he took ketamine before getting behind the wheel. Soon after, his car crashed in Norwich Road.

The court heard Vincent, of Cedar Avenue, Kesgrave, was seen clambering out of the vehicle and staggering around before sitting on the pavement.

In police interview, he admitted taking the Class C drug but initially claimed he had not been the driver.

Magistrates were told Vincent had ten previous convictions for driving while disqualified, nine for driving without insurance and one for driving while unfit through drugs.

During his hearing at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court, Vincent also admitted a further charge of theft after attempting to steal alcohol worth nearly �200 from the Asda supermarket in Goddard Road, Ipswich.

CCTV operators watched as he removed the security tags from bottles of spirits before placing them in a bag and heading for the exit. When stopped, police found he only had �1.65 cash in his pocket.

Mark Holt, mitigating, said his client was trying to break his drug habit.

“The pre-sentence report shows there is an attempt to come off the drugs,” he said. “He's no angel but he has had a major habit since he was quite young.”

Magistrates sentenced Vincent to a 20-week prison term suspended for a year. He was also banned from driving for five years and ordered to complete a supervision order.