A teenager was lucky to escape jail after ignoring his driving ban – two months after it was imposed.

Mohammed Asad, 18, was banned from the road following a conviction for dangerous driving last December.

The order lasts until December this year and the teenager cannot drive until he takes an extended retest.

He ignored this ban on February 17 when police caught him behind the wheel in the Salendine Nook area.

Officers stopped him on Longwood Edge Road as he was driving too close to the car in front.

Asad, of Bentley Street in Lockwood, claimed that the car belonged to a friend but it was actually a rental car.

He pleaded guilty at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court to offences of driving whilst disqualified and using a vehicle without insurance.

His solicitor explained that he was young and immature but his parents were trying to get him back on the right track by finding him a job at a local takeaway.

Magistrates sentenced him to a community order with 24 hours at a youth attendance centre as a direct alternative to custody.

Asad was banned from driving for a further 18 months and has to pay £85 costs plus £85 victim surcharge.