A CONVICTED drink driver who gambled on not being caught breaking a driving ban has received a suspended prison sentence.

Wesley Knight was disqualified from driving for three years in December 2016 after his second drink drive conviction in seven years, York Magistrates Court heard.

But on August 12, 2017, a member of the public spotted him driving a BMW X3 at the A59 service station near Kirk Hammerton west of York, and contacted police, said Simon Ostler, prosecuting.

A probation report about Knight said: “He weighed up the pros and cons of doing so and he was willing to take the risk (of being caught), feeling he would be able to get to work and earn money.”

Knight, 33, of Barugh Lane, Great Barugh, north of Malton, pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified.

“You richly deserve to go to prison,” district judge Adrian Lower told him. “I am sick and tired of people coming before me who cannot do what they are supposed to do and don’t respect the rule of law.”

He suspended the 16-week prison sentence for 12 months on the grounds Knight was the breadwinner for his family, who would suffer if he was locked up.

He warned Knight he would be jailed if he committed any offence, especially if it was a driving offence, in the next 12 months and that his ban remained until December 2019.

He also ordered Knight to pay a £115 statutory surcharge and £85 prosecution costs and gave him a six-month ban to be served alongside the three-year ban.

For Knight, Liam Hassan said he had been under a lot of stress at the time.

The probation report also said that Knight was ashamed and remorseful and the three-year driving ban had given him financial problems.