Prison was the "only option" for a man charged with driving while disqualified for the 19th time.
Magistrates told Martin Holland his "appalling record" meant custody was the only way of dealing with him.
Holland, 22, admitted driving while disqualified on October 4 when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court yesterday.
At the time of the offence Holland was out of prison on licence.
Phillip Mansfield, mitigating, said the driver of the vehicle was "under the influence of alcohol" and Holland had felt it would be safer for him to take over.
The magistrates ordered Holland, of Brooklands Gardens, Jaywick, to serve the remaining 16 days of his licence in prison, as well as five months' imprisonment for driving while disqualified, to run consecutively.
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