A MAN described by a judge as having the worst motoring record he had ever seen has been jailed after driving at speed through a town centre.

Wayne Rogan was spotted driving erratically in Hartlepool by a taxi driver on July 27.

Teesside Crown Court heard on Friday how police arrived to find the burgundy Volkswagen Golf had been abandoned.

However, Rogan, 28, of Heortnesse Road, Hartlepool, and several other people later returned to the vehicle where they were approached by a police officer.

The officer knocked on the window and asked Rogan to switch off the engine.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said the defendant slurred the words “no problem” but then drove off.

“He drove into a Nissan Micra, then reversed at speed with the passenger door still open,” she added.

CCTV images later captured the vehicle travelling above the speed limit through Hartlepool town centre.

The car was found abandoned but Rogan was arrested nearby.

He initially told police he had been having sex with his girlfriend on the beach at the time of the incident but later refused to make any comment when questioned further by officers.

Jim Withyman, mitigating, said his client had turned his life around since the offence and had set up a business repairing and selling second-hand cars.

Mr Withyman said Rogan had been repairing the Golf when he had received a call from his girlfriend to say her bag had been stolen.

He had driven the car to pick up his girlfriend because he wanted to ensure she was safe, the barrister added.

Rogan pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving with no insurance and failing to stop after an accident at an earlier hearing.

The court heard he had 30 previous convictions for 70 offences, many of them related to vehicles.

Sentencing him to 12 months in prison, Judge James Moorhouse told the defendant: "You have the most horrendous driving record I have ever seen.

"You know from your previous experience that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated."

Rogan was disqualified from driving for two years and told he must take an advanced test to get his licence back.