A LITHUANIAN ballroom-dancer appeared in court yesterday to admit defying a driving ban that he claimed he did not know was in force.
Mindaugas Baltramiejunas, 27, of Halfpenny Lane, Knaresborough - who has taken part in amateur ballroom dancing championships around the world - was banned by Harrogate magistrates on October 14 for drink-driving.
Yesterday, the court heard that four days later, Baltramiejunas, was spotted at the wheel of a car in Forest Lane, Harrogate.
When Baltramiejunas pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and without insurance, his solicitor, Peter Olley, said the ban had been imposed on an interim basis, prior to formal sentence. He had eventually been disqualified for 32 months but had not understood the interim ban, which had been why he was driving.
When court chairman Gordon Charlton heard Baltramiejunas had admitted similar offences in Leeds, he bailed him to the city's magistrates' court next Tuesday for sentencing on all charges.
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