Driver stopped with broken brake light by police was banned from the roads

A driver stopped due to a broken brake light was found to be uninsured by police. David Burdett had also been disqualified from driving just two months earlier following the incident in Melton.

Burdett had been driving a Ford Focus belonging to a female friend when police stopped the vehicle in Melton's Leicester Road last July. Officers from Leicestershire Police soon found that 37-year-old Burdett was uninsured on the Ford, while further checks revealed that he had been disqualified from driving just two months earlier.

That ban followed a speeding offence which saw him cumulative points total require a ban - in this case one lasting six months. However, at Leicester Magistrates' Court on Thursday (January 23), Burdett claimed confusion about when the ban was set to end.

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Burdett, of Asfordby Road in Melton, represented himself in court. He said: "I've no excuse, on my part. It was just a stupid act by myself."

He said he worked full-time as a builder, taking home about £400 a week, but that he would not be working for his current boss for long due to the 77-year-old employer's health.

Prosecutor Sukhy Basi said that under the sentencing guidelines the offences could lead to a prison term of up to 12 weeks. However, Burdett was given unpaid work with a disqualification from driving instead.

The chair of the bench, Robert Boden, told him: "The nature of the offence is that it's happened shortly after your disqualification. We feel a community order is appropriately."

Burdett, who pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified and having no insurance, was given the community order which will last for 12 months and include 140 hours of unpaid work. Burdett was also ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £114 victim surcharge and was given a new driving ban which will continue for the next six months.