A man who drove away from court minutes after being banned from the wheel was caught in the act by two journalists from the Express & Star in Wolverhampton.

Reporter Sally Taylor and a colleague, who declined to be named, have been praised after helping to jail 30-year-old James Robert Knowles for four months.

Sally saw the man get into the driver's seat of a removals van after being given a two-month driving ban at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court after admitting to picking up a prostitute.

The photographer then gave chase and snapped Knowles apparently sending a text message at a set of traffic lights.

When arrested he denied driving while disqualified, but entered a guilty plea at the last minute.

Both journalists had been due to give evidence.

Sally told HoldtheFrontPage: "We were quite pleased we didn't have to give evidence in the end.

"It was a bit bizarre. At the time it didn't really click - we were just hoping to get a snatched picture of him and my photographer was running late so I thought I would follow him so that I could tell the photographer where he was.

"He walked round the corner and got into a van and drove off. It was only afterwards that I thought - he's just been banned!

"He even drove right in front of the court round the one-way system. It was a bit cheeky really."