A motorist banned from the road for drink-driving was caught flouting his disqualification by chance after jumping behind the wheel of a car linked to crime.

Lee Potts, from Faversham, was stopped by officers on the A2 near London in May after the vehicle he was in flagged up on their number plate recognition systems.

Police quickly realised the 30-year-old - who did not own the suspect vehicle - was not the person they were looking for.

But after carrying out checks on him, it was discovered Potts had been banned from the road just two months before for a drink-driving offence.

He was arrested and later charged with driving while disqualified and without insurance.

He admitted the offences when he appeared before magistrates in Folkestone.

The court heard Potts, who gave a care-of address as Goldfinch Close, Faversham, had been banned for one year in March and fined £120 for the drink-driving offence.

Offering mitigation himself for breaching the disqualification, he said: "I was silly. I made a mistake. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was only one time I did it.

"I can only apologise. I was on my way home from work. Someone at my job asked me to do one thing and I agreed to it."

Magistrates placed Potts on a 12-month community order, which will require him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work for the driving while disqualified offence.

He was also banned from driving for a further nine months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £95 and £85 costs.

He received no separate penalty for the insurance offence, but his licence was endorsed.