A motorist was caught behind the wheel of his van less than a week after he was handed a two-year driving ban.

Ian Hipkin was arrested in April after an officer spotted his erratic driving on the A120 at Ardleigh.

When the 39-year-old was stopped, he tested positive for cocaine at the roadside.

Hipkin pleaded guilty at Colchester Magistrates' Court on October 9 to driving with excess drugs in his system and was disqualified from driving for two years and fined.

But just five days after his court appearance, Hipkin was spotted by the same officer driving a van in Severalls Lane, Colchester.

He was charged with driving whilst disqualified and remanded to appear at Colchester Magistrates’ Court the following day.

Hipkin, of Dedham Road, Boxted, was sentenced to a further 12-month ban and ordered to carry out 100 hours' community service.

PC Major, of the Essex Roads Policing Team, said: "Hipkin knew that he was banned from driving but still got behind the wheel —he ignored that fact when he set off for work that day.

"Being banned from driving means just that – no more driving."