AN ISLE of Wight man who got behind the wheel of his Renault Clio while he was disqualified from driving, pleaded with police officers: "Don't nick me!" 

Jack Tregoning, of Alexandra Road, Ryde, admitted driving whilst disqualified and without insurance, together with possession of cannabis, on December 13 last year.

Just before 4pm that day, Tregoning was spotted by the police driving close to the edge of the road and swerving in his Renault Clio, on Beaper Shute, near Ryde, heading towards the Tesco roundabout, said Liz Miller, prosecuting, at the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court, last Tuesday.

When he was questioned at the roadside, Tregoning, 30, told an officer: "Don't nick me. This is my first day at work. I knew I shouldn't have been driving."

Tregoning, unemployed, then volunteered to the officer he had been smoking cannabis the day before and had a quantity of it, for personal use, in his bag, Miss Miller added.

Tregoning is no stranger to committing driving offences.

He was convicted of driving whilst disqualified, and without insurance, by Island magistrates on August 19, 2022. He was banned from driving for 17 months.

He was also subject to a 12-month probation order, with 30 rehabilitation sessions, for resisting police arrest in August last year.

The offences were committed four months into the order.

For Tregoning, Barry Arnett said his client told him: "It was a moment of madness. As soon as I saw the police behind me, I knew how stupid I'd been."  

Mr Arnett, in mitigation, added: "He was foolish. He wasn't driving around willy nilly, but accepts the consequences for what he did.

"He knows if he goes near the driver's seat of a car again, he can expect to go into custody."

Magistrates handed Tregoning a six-month driving ban, on top of his existing disqualification, with £85 costs and a £114 surcharge.

His probation order was revoked and replaced with a new one for 12 months, which includes a nine month drug rehabilitation requirement.

Following his sentence, Tregoning told magistrates: "I'm really sorry. I'm really trying to sort myself out."