A COURT in Swindon has ordered pre-sentence reports to be prepared on a Wiltshire man accused of taking a vehicle and then damaging it.

Thomas Cole, 24, of Kingsbury Square, Melksham, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking when he appeared before magistrates on Wednesday (September 15).

The court was told he took a white Renault Traffic business van without the owner's consent at Chippenham on January 1 this year.

He drove the vehicle and then crashed it, causing more than £5,000 worth of damage. The van was later recovered.

Cole also pleaded guilty to driving the van on Lysley Close otherwise than in accordance with a driving licence and without third party insurance on the same date.

Magistrates remanded Cole on unconditional bail to Swindon court on October 21. In a previous appearance he gave the court an address in Stockwood Road, Chippenham.