A dangerous driver was branded ‘stupid’ for failing to heed a judge’s earlier warning about what would happen if he breached his suspended sentence.

Colton Christian, 28, was spared an immediate prison term in October for dangerous driving and driving while over the drug limit.

But he was back before Oxford Crown Court on Monday morning, when he admitted failing to attend three probation service appointments last December.

Adjourning the case until February 14, Judge Michael Gledhill QC said that if Christian ‘put his shoulder’ to the order he would not activate the eight month suspended sentence and send him to prison.

“When I came into this court I intended to activate the suspended sentence. I take breaches of court orders extremely seriously,” he said.

The judge said he had ‘no doubt’ that when Christian was sentenced he would have been warned what would happen if he breached the suspended sentence order. “You didn’t take it in. That is because you are plainly stupid.”

Mitigating, Peter du Feu said he had explained to his client that a crown court judge wouldn’t accept ‘any nonsense about excuses’ and whatever was happening in his life he needed to ‘put his shoulder behind’ the order.

Christian, Acacia Road, Oxford, ran his own flooring business, which would fold if he was sent to prison. He had experienced difficulties with probation appointments being cancelled or changed at short notice.

The court heard he had completed eight-and-a-quarter hours of unpaid work out of 150 hours imposed last year.