A man who fixed a flat-bed truck for a friend and got behind the wheel to test drive it was pulled over by police and found to be banned from the road.

Bradley Boarer was stopped by officers in a Ford Transit van in Brodle Avenue, Swanscombe on June 9, and immediately told officers he didn’t have a driving licence.

When officers carried out checks, they found he had previously been banned from driving under the totting-up scheme and therefore, had no valid insurance policy either.

The 25-year-old was banned for accumulating 12 or more penalty points on his licence after committing other driving offences. He was banned for a year in 2022, until July this year.

Boarer, of Knockhall Road, Greenhithe, was charged with driving while disqualified and without insurance and admitted both offences when he appeared at Medway Magistrates’ Court on September 20.

Debbie Jones, prosecuting, said: "Officers had cause to stop the Transit and he told them he had no licence and PNC checks revealed he was banned and therefore there was no insurance because was banned.

“He admitted in an interview he was banned under the totting up procedure as on July 27, 2022, he was given a 12-month ban.

“He is also on a community order he’d been given for another offence.”

Sara Haroon, defending, said her client had been doing a good turn for a friend when he was stopped.

She added: “He had done a favour for a friend, the flat-bed lorry had a problem with the power steering and he drove it around the corner to test it.”

Magistrates also heard Boarer had already completed his 40-hour unpaid work requirement on the community order he had previously been given and that there was no reason to suggest his driving was poor on the day in question.

The bench ordered he carry out another 100 hours of unpaid work for the driving while disqualified offence and had six points endorsed on his licence. He was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £114, as well as £85 costs.

Boarer received no separate penalty for the no insurance offence.