A York man who broke a motoring ban six times in four weeks and attacked three people while driving around the city has been jailed for six months, the maximum sentence possible, and banned from driving for three years.

Daran Mark Connors, 30, also punched a schoolgirl, a 17-year-old youth and a man in two separate incidents while driving around west York, the city's magistrates heard.

He has previous convictions and has served prison sentences before.

"There is no other way of dealing with you," magistrates told him.

Connors, of Boroughbridge Road, Acomb, admitted driving while disqualified in Burnsall Drive, Pateley Place, Chapelfields Road, Barkston Road and Gale Lane on six dates in October and November.

He also admitted obstructing police after he was stopped on the first occasion, assaulting the schoolgirl on November 4 and assaulting the youth and man on November 16 and six offences of driving without insurance.

Mike Duffy, prosecuting, said York magistrates banned Connors from driving for a year last August for taking a vehicle without consent.

But, starting on October 20, police repeatedly stopped him at the wheel of a car. On November 4, while out in a car, he stopped and grabbed a passing schoolgirl and punched her to the head before driving away. On November 16, he punched the youth and man. The man fell over the car bonnet, injuring his back.

In police interviews, he admitted repeatedly breaking the driving ban, but denied hitting the girl.

John Howard, mitigating, conceded that his client had to go to jail.

Charges of driving without test certificates, carrying a knife in public and making a false statement to obtain a driving licence were dropped for legal reasons.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.