A Strabane man was jailed for 10 months at the town's Magistrates Court on Thursday, having been convicted for an eighth time for driving whilst disqualified.

The court was told that on April 19, at around 6.00pm, police on patrol at Orchard Road saw the defendant driving a Citroen Saxo car, and, aware that he was a disqualified driver, stopped 27 year-old Aaron McGarrigle, of Patrick Street in Strabane.

Checks showed that the defendant had been banned for driving on April 13 2006 for five years, and he was arrested for driving whilst disqualified and for driving without insurance. Further checks revealed that he had taken the vehicle without the owners consent, and the defendant admitted charges of driving whilst disqualified, no insurance and taking and driving away.

A defence solicitor said that a pre-sentence report prepared by the Probation Service highlighted that the defendant had been convicted for a series of driving offences dating back to 1998. She said that her client had completed a 12-month probation order, including completion of a disqualified drivers programme, yet within a week had committed this particular offence.

She said that her client "seems to have a problem sticking to disqualifications," but stressed that he was apologetic and angry with himself. Unfortunately for him, she said, he openly admitted in the report that he was likely to drive again whilst disqualification. She added that he was very well aware of the situation in which he found himself and would do absolutely anything to avoid a prison sentence.

RM Mr Liam McNally told the defendant, "The court has bent over backwards to avoid sending you to prison, but the time has come when there is no other option."

He added that if he counted solely the instances of driving whilst disqualified, not even the convictions of no insurance, then it was the defendant's eighth conviction.

He was sentenced to five months imprisonment for driving whilst disqualified, and also had a suspended sentence activated which added a further five months to the prison term, giving a total sentence of 10 months in custody, with an immediate warrant for his arrest.

He was also banned from driving for six years for driving whilst disqualified, fined £500 and disqualified for five years for driving without insurance, and fined £250 for taking and driving away.