A banned driver used his brother's licence to hire a £20,000 car and then kept the vehicle until he was caught two months later.

Stephen Meyer put 2,500 miles on the clock of the Ford Scorpio before police stopped him in Colchester, a court heard yesterday.

By that time, car dealer Meyer had swapped the number plates and run up a £1,750 bill in hire charges.

Chelmsford Crown Court also heard how Meyer, 29, was sent to prison for not paying fines after he was arrested for these matters but walked out of the low security jail within a few days.

He was not arrested until two and a half years later, John Bishop, prosecuting, told the court.

Meyer, of Commons Close, Colchester, admitted charges of theft and driving while banned when he appeared in court.

Assistant Recorder David Etherington QC jailed him for 18 months and banned him from driving for a year.

The court heard Meyer hired the car from a firm at Stansted Airport in July 1996 and said he would return it six days later.

Meyer kept the car until September when he was stopped by police on the A120, Mr Bishop said.

Christian Moll, mitigating, said the theft was not premeditated.

"It was an opportunist crime combined with stupidity," Mr Moll said.

"Since the offences, he has stayed out of trouble and is far more responsible. Crime no longer plays a part in his life."

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