A MAN who went on the run for seven months because he feared being sent to prison would not have been jailed, a judge told him.

However, Louis Davies has now been locked up for 18 months after committing more offences while at large.

Plymouth Crown Court heard that back in May 2008 Davies was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for two years, for attempted robbery. He was also ordered to do unpaid community work.

More hours were added for breaches and failure to attend supervision.

When he did not attend a court hearing in July 2009, a warrant was issued for his arrest, but Davies managed to evade the law until he was stopped while driving a car with a faulty rear light in Cremyll Street, Plymouth, on March 2 this year.

Davies, aged 21 and of Chestnut Close in Lamerton near Tavistock, pleaded guilty to five charges: theft of £1 and £20 from two handbags in the Lavish nightclub in Plymouth last December and taking a car without consent and driving it with no licence or insurance between February 28 and March 2 this year.

Davies denied a sixth charge of assaulting a woman by beating on January 15 and it was allowed to lie on file. The court heard Davies had borrowed the silver Skoda from a female friend, but wasn't supposed to take it outside Ivybridge.

His counsel, Llewellyn Sellick, told the court: "He has reached the end of the road."

Judge Francis Gilbert told Davies he would not have been jailed for the breaches in July 2009 but would have to be now.

His suspended sentence was activated and Davies was imprisoned for a total of 18 months, less 11 days spent on remand, and given eight driving penalty points.