YORK man Paul Laird is in jail today after breaking his driving ban for the SEVENTEENTH time.

A "horrified" judge at York Crown Court told Laird he had no regard for the law and sent him to prison for 15 months.

Laird, of Bellhouse Way, Foxwood, was caught driving a Ford Sierra on January 24, despite being banned until September 1998. The 29-year-old, who since the age of 17 has notched up a string of convictions for burglary, drug use and driving offences, was also carrying heroin hidden in a cigarette packet.

His 15-month sentence, imposed yesterday, reflected nine new convictions, including driving offences, possession of heroin and cannabis, burglary and the theft of a jacket - from a police station.

Nick Dry, for Laird, said his client knew his crimes boiled down to "his own sheer stupidity" and that there was no excuse. He had asked the court to consider probation instead of sending Laird to prison, saying this would help him address why he continued to drive while disqualified. But the judge said jail was the only option.

The court heard how Laird, who has a young son, had also burgled the home of the child's grandmother, his former partner's mother, last March.

After taking Pauline Gent and her two grandchildren out on a day trip, he returned them to her home in Cornlands Road, West Field, where he waited for Mrs Gent to go out.

Then he broke in and stole a gold watch worth £400, a £400 stereo and a £900 camcorder, plus cash and jewellery.Sentencing Laird, Judge Dinah Stocken said she was horrified to learn of his 16 previous convictions for breaking a driving ban. "You have no regard for the law and just jump into a car while disqualified," she said.

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