Peter Reece, 42A FORMER supermarket customer services manager was caught driving despite being banned weeks before for failing to provide a breath sample to police.

Ex-Tesco worker Peter Reece, 42, of Montague Court, Trowbridge, was ordered to do 60 hours of community service after being caught driving in Trowbridge on March 21.

Michelle Hewitt, prosecuting, told magistrates in Chippenham how Reece was fined £395 and banned from driving just three weeks before police caught him behind the wheel of a BMW in Leap Gate, Trowbridge.

Andrew Watts-Jones, defending, said: "As you can see from his list of previous convictions, in his youth he was a very naughty boy but I am talking about over 20 years ago, then there is a complete blank until this year, with the failure to provide in February and now this, and that says something."

Mr Watts-Jones told the court his client had outgrown the misbehaviour of his youth and become an upstanding member of the community, with a respectable job, a wife and two teenage children. But then his life went badly wrong.

"The certainties of life he had built up over 20 years have started to break down."

The court heard Reece's marriage was breaking down and he had lost his managerial post at Tesco, in County Way, Trowbridge, for reasons other than his court appearances.

Mr Watts-Jones said, on the day in question, Reece had a job interview in Bristol and had arranged for a female friend to drive him.

The friend was delayed and, fearing he would be late for the interview, Reece decided to drive across town to her house in order to save time, despite the driving ban and having no insurance.

"This little surge of offending is not in character. Things are going wrong in his life and he is reacting inappropriately," Mr Watts-Jones said.

Sentencing him to 60 hours community punishment at the hearing on Thursday, magistrate Michael Leighfield said: "We feel that this is a very serious offence.

"Three weeks after you were disqualified from driving you got into a vehicle and drove."

Magistrates agreed not to impose any financial penalty due to Reece's financial circumstances.

A Tesco spokesman said: "It is company policy that we do not disclose confidential information about employees."