Tamworth disqualified driver Bon Scott Sharpley's sentencing adjourned after being caught behind the wheel in Tamworth

Bon Scott Sharpley fronted Tamworth Local Court for sentencing this week after he pleaded guilty to one charge of driving while disqualified after being caught behind the wheel in mid-February.

Sharpley was supported by several family members in court as his defence solicitor argued he did not deserve a stint behind bars.

"He instructs me the purpose of driving was to get his mother to hospital," Aboriginal Legal Service lawyer Joseph Healy said.

The court heard Sharpley couldn't find a working phone to call an ambulance and couldn't get help from neighbours when his mother complained of chest pains.

READ ALSO:

Mr Healy said Sharpley's mother had backed up his excuse.

"She would usually ring an ambulance but she was panicking and asked him to drive in her panic," he said.

The court heard the 27-year-old man was already serving an intensive corrections order when he was stopped.

Sharpley did not own a car and was behind the wheel of his mother's vehicle when police stopped him for a random breath test.

"His mother is going to take away the keys?" Ms Soars asked.

"Yes," Mr Healy replied.

Mr Healy argued the sentencing assessment report showed Sharpley was doing well in the community and had a job lined up at a solar farm outside town.

He said another "mitigating factor" was that Sharpley thought his mother was having a medical emergency.

Mr Healy asked the magistrate for a community-based sentence and said his client had been assessed as suitable for community service.

"He obviously has strong support from his family," he said.

"He is under no illusions about how serious it is for him to drive while disqualified."

The court heard Sharpley was driving a "short distance" to the Tamworth hospital with his mother in the car when he was pulled over, and charged.

Mr Healy said he understood it to be his client's fourth disqualified driving offence.

Police called an ambulance and Sharpley's mother was assessed by paramedics on the side of the road. It was found to be a "false alarm".

Police prosecutor Sergeant Rob Baillie strongly opposed a community-based sentence, and said he put community safety at risk when he buckled up in the driver's seat.

He said the last time Sharpley was caught driving while disqualified should have been his "last chance", and driving to the hospital was not acceptable.

"You would think that it sounds very hard and cruel perhaps but ... there was all sorts of things to call other than getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle," Sergeant Baillie said.

The court heard Sharpley had stayed off the road for the past three months, and Ms Soars said she could see he was on a positive trajectory.

She ultimately asked him to keep it up before sentencing in August and ordered he complete the traffic offenders program.

"Not to drive or commit those sorts of offences, that's all I'm asking," Ms Soars said.

"Keep going in the right direction."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: