A DISQUALIFIED driver has thrown away his chance of spending Christmas with his stricken grandmother because he was caught behind the wheel for the second time in three months.

Chris Wilson, 26, of Elborough Road, was due to be released from prison on December 14 following a previous offence in July.

However, at Swindon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, Diana Crockett, chair of the magistrates, handed him a consecutive 12-week prison sentence after being caught in Swindon on October 21.

In his mitigation, Emma Thacker, said Wilson was keen to avoid another jail term because he was concerned for the wellbeing of his grandmother, who recently suffered a heart attack.

Wilson has a history of driving while disqualified, with offences dating back a number of years.

He was spotted most recently at 11.40am in Cunningham Road, Pinehurst, by police officers who ran a check on a Ford Focus and found there was no insurance policy in place.

When Wilson was apprehended he admitted to being banned from driving until June 18, 2016, for previous offences.

This offence was committed while he waited for trial at Oxfordshire Magistrates' Court for a separate, similar offence.

He was sentenced there on November 3 to 12 weeks imprisonment because of the prior convictions.

Ms Crockett matched the sentence on Wednesday in Swindon.

Ms Thacker said Wilson’s main hobby was collecting cars, improving them and then selling them on.

On this occasion, a man in Swindon had agreed to give him the Focus, but it needed collecting on October 21 and, after he could find no help, Wilson collected it himself before being collared by Wiltshire Police.

“This was a foolish decision by Mr Wilson. It was because of a hobby which he will no longer be continuing with,” she said.

“It has been getting him into a lot of trouble and he will no longer be working on cars.”