A BUCKIE MAN was caught driving while under a year-long ban – just weeks before it was due to end and he would have got his licence back.

Jan Smith, 44, admitted that he had taken a “foolish risk” when he drove his van in December to make a short journey to a local supermarket – and now faces a further driving ban until October.

Smith appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court where it was revealed that police identified Smith’s van through automatic number plate recognition when it was being driven on North Church Street in Buckie on December 10. Officers were despatched to his home where they saw Smith returning home at the wheel of the vehicle.

Defending Smith, who had admitted charges of driving while disqualified and without insurance, solicitor Brent Lockie said his client had gone to the supermarket for a large and heavy bag of dog food “so heavy that he could not have carried it”. He added: “He foolishly succumbed to the temptation to use the van which was a somewhat ill-considered decision.”

Sheriff James Tierney ordered Smith to undertake 70 hours of unpaid work over the next six months and added a disqualification from the road for eight months and a £300 fine.