A PERSISTENT offender who has been caught driving without insurance FIVE times and behind the wheel without a licence twice is today banned from the road.
A PERSISTENT offender who has been caught driving without insurance FIVE times and behind the wheel without a licence twice is today banned from the road.
Out-of-work father-of-one Martin Howells, of Ruskin Road, Ipswich, is also £480 out of pocket after magistrates punished him for ignoring basic road rules.
The 35-year-old appeared at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court yesterday for sentencing after earlier being found guilty in his absence of a series of offences.
Sandra Dyer, prosecuting, told the court that three of the offences dated back to December 27 last year when police caught Howells ignoring a 'no entry' sign in New Cut West, Ipswich, as well as driving otherwise in accordance with a licence and driving without insurance.
The other offences related to February 12 this year when Howells was once again caught driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and driving without insurance.
On both dates he had been driving a Renault 307 and only had a provisional driving licence - which had expired.
After he didn't appear at the hearing where he was found guilty, a warrant was issued for his arrest on July 25 and he was held in custody until yesterday's hearing.
When brought before the magistrates Howells, who has a two-year-old child, told them: “I shouldn't have been driving, I apologise for that.”
The court heard of previous offences relating to Howells driving without insurance, including one which led to a 12-month driving ban in 2005.
For his latest offences, magistrate Anthony Baker disqualified Howells from driving for 18 months.
For the December 27 offence of driving without insurance he put eight penalty points on his licence and fined him £200. For driving without a licence on the same day and contravening the 'no entry' sign he endorsed his licence but issued no separate penalty.
For the February 12 offence of driving without insurance he again imposed eight penalty points and a fine of £200. Once again, for the offence of driving without a licence he imposed no separate penalty.
In addition, Howells was ordered to pay £65 in court costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
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