A MAN missed his day in court as his mum opened his summons letter a day after he was due to appear to face a string of motoring offences.

Terrence Jacks, who provided an address of Bisley Close, works for a fair company and spends much of his time away on work, Swindon Magistrates' Court heard on Friday.

He was due to appear on Wednesday but failed to attend as he was working in Cheltenham at the time and his summons was sent to his mother’s address.

She opened the letter a day too late and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Jacks, 29, pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified, with no insurance and without a valid MoT dating back to January 9 this year.

The court heard how two plain clothed officers, in an unmarked car, spotted Jacks driving along Drakes Way just before 1pm.

Prosecuting Viv Thatcher said: “Jacks was known to them and so the officers followed him and he eventually came to a halt.

"They then called for backup in the form of a marked car and he was subsequently arrested.”

Despite not holding a licence, he drove the car knowing he had been handed a disqualification back in 2007 which prevented him from driving until he applied for a licence and passed his driving test.

Defending Mark Glendenning told the court how his client, who is interested in banger racing, only purchased the car for £150 to be used on private land.

Magistrates disqualified him for a further six months and told Jacks that once that time is up he should then apply for a licence and book a driving test to prevent a similar incident happening again.

He was also told to pay £395.