A BANNED driver spared jail for a 'dangerous' police chase used fake references to get a job transporting vulnerable children just weeks later.

Before locking up Daniel Smith for a string of offences yesterday a court judge said he had showed 'utter contempt' for court orders.

The 24-year-old of Pegasus Road, Oxford, had already admitted one count of fraud by false representation and two of driving while disqualified and having no insurance while driving.

Smith also admitted breaching his community order by turning up to just three hours of unpaid work out of a total of 200.

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Outlining the case at Oxford Crown Court yesterday prosecutor Christopher Pembridge said Smith was first banned from the roads in November 2018 for six months for accumulating more than 12 points on his driving licence.

In January last year, while he was disqualified, Smith became involved in a police chase, speeding past motorists and nearly slamming head-on into a truck.

The chase which began in Kidlington saw Smith reach speeds of up to 80mph before he hit a grass bank, losing control, before his arrest.

A court judge handed him a lifeline and ordered a community order to include 200 hours of unpaid work.

Yesterday, it was revealed that not only had he completed just three hours of that work he had also continued to drive while disqualified twice.

As well as those offences he also applied for a job to work as a senior support worker for a care setting using two false references.

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Prosecutors said Smith, who does have credentials with care work previously, began working on October 9 until January this year.

During that time he was to be 'solely responsible' for transporting five children, described as vulnerable, to local schools.

After he was rumbled when the company began investigating he was arrested on March 8 this year.

In mitigation his defence barrister Peter Du Feu said his client was 'very remorseful' for what he had done.

He added that his client had long enjoyed his profession involving care work and at the time he had needed money.

He said that Smith denied ever driving the children as part of his brief employment at the company.

Sentencing, Judge Maria Lamb said: "You have treated the court and its various orders in my view with utter contempt.

"I accept you are remorseful, I accept it is so that working in a care home was a passion.

"I think you are completely unsuitable for it, if you consider it is not a criminal offence to be making false references I can't see how you can possibly be suitable for this sort of work."

Smith was jailed for a total of two years and two months for all of the offences.

He was also disqualified from driving for a total of three years.