Confused motorist already banned from the road drove the wrong way on busy Leeds one-way route

Plain-clothes officers on foot spotted Joe Kirton in a blue Mercedes travelling along East Parade into oncoming traffic on the afternoon of January 29 this year. They tried to get his attention but he drove on, although it was unknown if he saw them or if he realised they were police because they were not wearing uniforms.

When he parked up on nearby South Parade, they approached him and he told them he did not know the roads because he was from Middlesbrough, prosecutor Louise Gillett told Leeds Crown Court this week.

Checks found that he had no insurance, and then it was discovered that was banned from the roads in November last year for driving while under the influence.

He was also on a suspended sentence after being convicted in July of last year at Teesside Crown Court of possession with intent to supply cocaine, for which he received a two-year sentence, suspended for two years.

The 23-year-old, of Ash Hill, Middlesbrough, admitted driving while banned, without insurance, and being in breach of a suspended sentence.

Mitigating, Jeremy Hill-Baker said that Kirton had come to court "prepared" to be sent to prison, however he said in other aspects he had complied with the courts, completing the 180 hours of unpaid work he was previously given.

He said Kirton had come to Leeds in January for lunch with his family, but when his six-month-old baby became ill, he unwisely took the decision to get behind the wheel so his partner could comfort the tot in the back. He said he was also "immediately frank" with police about his past. Mr Hill-Baker said he was a HGV fitter who worked for a haulage company and supported his family financially.

The judge, Recorder David Gordon opted not to activate his suspended sentence, and instead gave him a community order to run alongside the sentence. This included a further 80 hours of unpaid work, a £300 fine and an extension to his existing driving ban.