A MOTORIST with more than 70 previous offences is in jail today and banned from driving for the seventh time after being caught behind the wheel while disqualified.

A MOTORIST with more than 70 previous offences is in jail today and banned from driving for the

seventh time after being caught behind the wheel while disqualified.

Kirk Ling, 24, of Felixstowe Road, Ipswich, was sentenced to five months in prison after admitting being behind the wheel of a VW Golf at Copdock. He was also banned from driving for six months, but was not punished for being uninsured.

Ling was last in court in January after being caught drink- driving in December.

South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court heard that the odd-job man was stopped by the police because smoke was spewing out of the exhaust as he drove along the A12 to meet a friend who was visiting him. Ling claimed the vehicle was a friend's that he was repairing.

Roger Thomson, mitigating said: “Ling has problems with motor offences with some 70 offences committed over the last two or three years.

“I have told him that he should expect to be looking at a

custodial sentence.”

The court heard Ling had moved house to try to break his cycle of offending.

Other than on-the-spot fines, he did not have many offences on his record.

Ling had been ordered to

complete 200 hours of community service but had only completed 67 hours, his last breach was in July.

District Judge Read said the sentencing had taken account Ling's guilty plea and allowed for some let up provided he stopped driving.

He said: “You have many previous convictions but you are still driving, causing great danger to other drivers. No other penalty but imprisonment will suffice.”