SWINDON traffic police hope Britain's worst driver will finally learn from his 51st conviction.

Jamie Manderson, 35, of Elborough Road, Moredon, was on Monday jailed for eight months and given a five-year ban from driving after admitting driving whilst disqualified.

Manderson, pictured, who is the country's most banned driver, was already serving a community sentence for other car-related matters when he was spotted behind the wheel in the Roughmoor area by police officers on Saturday.

Sgt Joe Saunders from Wiltshire Police's Northern Roads Policing Unit said: "I am pleased he has seen a custodial sentence.

"The manner of his driving witnessed in the past has shown his blatant disregard for the law and court decisions.

"This disregard for the law and people's safety is something we take very seriously. As police officers we see the damage and hurt dangerous driving does to people's lives.

"I would very much like to hope this time he can stick to his punishment."

Jailing Manderson, chief magistrate Norman Ames, said: "You have a flagrant disregard for the law. This the worst case of driving while disqualified, in total, we have come across."

Former nightclub bouncer, Manderson, who has never had a driving licence, has been banned from driving every year since 1988 when he was just 15.

He currently has 51 convictions for driving while disqualified, with 51 connected offences for driving without insurance.

Rob Ross, defending Manderson, told the court: "He still has a problem with motor cars. He always will."

In the past Mr Ross has said Manderson suffers from "a serious addiction to cars".

Manderson has a record of more than 200 offences, including aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving in 2004 and 2005.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said it hoped the latest jail spell for Manderson would help him see the error of his ways.

"It is very sad that the courts' time is repeatedly taken up with him," said spokesman Roger Vincent.

"This time no-one was injured as a result of his actions, but we can only hope that even he realises there must be a better way of using his time."

In November 2006, Manderson vowed to give up his bad driving habits. He told the Adver he was turning over a new leaf for his son Kaine, after spending 17 years of his life behind bars.

In July 2006 he was jailed for five months after racking up his 48th driving conviction.

He was dubbbed Britain's Worst Driver' by magistrates after clocking up his 47th conviction for disqualified driving in September 2005.

A decade ago he left a 12-year-old cyclist Matt McHugh for dead as he drove a robbery getaway car.

Manderson is awaiting trial on two further charges of driving while disqualified, he is alleged to have committed in February.

He denies the offences.