BANNED driver Simon Aldridge was taking his partner s car out for a test drive on Saturday when police spotted him driving past and trying to cover his face, magistrates heard. Aldridge, who was banned from the road for six months in April, stopped at a s

BANNED driver Simon Aldridge was taking his partner's car out for a test drive on Saturday when police spotted him driving past and trying to cover his face, magistrates heard.

Aldridge, who was banned from the road for six months in April, stopped at a shop, and later admitted he had no permission to drive the Ford Escort.

"He drove it about 50 to 100 yards to see what he had done had fixed it," solicitor Anita Waterman explained to Fenland magistrates. "He intended to drive around the block to make sure everything was in working order."

Aldridge, 28, of Robingoodfellows Lane, March, did not accept he had been trying to hide his identity by covering his face, she added. He had been turning his head to check the safety of a junction.

After Aldridge admitted driving when disqualified, taking a vehicle without the owner's permission and driving without insurance, he was fined a total of £300, with £60 costs and a £15 surcharge. A new 12-month driving ban was imposed.