A driver who got behind the wheel of a car less than a month after being disqualified from driving did so because his friend, who then became his passenger, had been drinking.

Arturs Rubeznieks, 29, of Pemboa Farm, Gweek, who pleaded guilty at Truro Magistrates’ Court to driving while disqualified and without insurance.

Alison May, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Rubeznieks had been banned for 36 months on October 20 for failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis, and had been seen driving at Helston on November 8.

Rubeznieks, who told District Judge Kevin Gray he was very sorry for what he did, was sent to prison for a total of 12 weeks, when the judge implemented a suspended sentence imposed by an earlier court and added time for the insurance offence. Rubeznieks had to pay £80 costs and was banned from driving for a year.