A SALISBURY man who forced a police officer to jump out of the way of his car has been banned from the roads for 12 months and given a community order.

Nicholas Wells, of Eyres Way, appeared at Salisbury Crown Court for sentencing on Friday (November 27) after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, driving with no insurance and driving a motor vehicle otherwise in accordance with a licence.

The court heard on September 30, 2019, at around 12.30am, police were in the area of Penruddock Close in Salisbury and had been been looking for a silver Audi A6 and came across the car which was being driven by the defendant.

A previous hearing at Salisbury’s magistrates’ court in October heard that the car was in Old Dairy Close and a PC Boyland had to “jump out of the way” of the car as he went to talk to the driver - if he had not done so, the officer fears he would have been run over.

Officers decided to go and speak to the driver and pulled up near the Audi as it reversed by a resident’s parking space.

The 28-year-old also admitted two charges of breaching a suspended sentence imposed in August of this year by not abiding by the terms of his curfew.

His defence barrister, Berenice Mulvanny, said Wells was looking to get employment.

In relation to the dangerous driving, Judge Barnett said the defendant “drove off when he shouldn’t have done” and that “miraculously no-one was hurt”. He imposed a community order for 12 months with a six month electronic monitor curfew.

He was also ordered to do 40 hours of unpaid work.

In regards to the breach of the suspended sentence, Judge Andrew Barnett said Wells had been engaging with it to a “large extent” and it would therefore be “unjust to cause that suspended sentence to be activated in whole or in part” and instead fined him £40. His suspended sentence will continue to run.

The judge extended Wells’ electronic monitor to cover the garden to allow him to be able to take out the bins and go out to smoke but said he must not leave the premises between 7pm and 7am.

No separate penalty was given for driving with no insurance and driving otherwise in accordance with a licence.

He was disqualified from driving for 12 months and will have to complete an extended test once the period of the ban is complete.