A HEREFORD driver caught without his lights on has been banned from the roads after failing to provide a sample to police.

Christopher John Vaughan admitted failing to provide a sample to police when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Police were called to a car with no lights on in Hereford at 3.10am on February 2, prosecutor Mark Hambling said.

Officers found Vaughan sat in the driver's seat of his car at a Texaco garage in Hereford and went to speak to him, noting that he was blinking erratically and that his speech was slurred and delayed.

Vaughan was arrested after failing a roadside breath test and was taken into custody, where he was asked to provide an evidential sample, but failed to do so.

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George Cousins, for Vaughan, said the 39-year-old suffers from anxiety and that his GP has referred him to a number of organisations.

"When he was booked into custody, it was recorded that he was distressed and his breathing was sporadic," Mr Cousins said.

"It is clear some officers will persevere with trying to get a breath test, some will offer to get a blood test, and come will decide to just charge, and that is the route that was taken here.

"He was interviewed the next day and was uncontrollably shaking, and his breathing was unsteady.

"He has been diagnosed with clinical depression and is medicated, and says he has panic attacks in stressful situations. Clearly that is the case here, and it was not deliberate.

Vaughan, of Moorcroft Lane, Hereford, was fined £357 and disqualified from driving for 12 months. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £36 victim surcharge.