Henry Siborowski, 67, previously of Hopetoun Road, Warrnambool, pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court this week to driving while disqualified and diving an unregistered vehicle.

The breach of a previous suspended sentence imposed for similar offending was also found proven.

Siborowski was found by police in his stationary car at a wayside stop along the Calder Freeway at Gisborne about 5am on January 1 this year. He was a disqualified driver and his vehicle was unregistered.

His licence had been cancelled on October 15 last year for 12 months for driving while disqualified and he received a suspended jail sentence.

Defence counsel Belinda Northey said her client had been homeless for 18 months and was caught at Gisborne when he was living in his car.

But she said his personal circumstances had improved greatly, he now had accommodation in Cobden and had turned his life around. She said he had not driven since his last offending and his previous trouble with the law had been caused when he was caught driving while trying to help a friend involved in domestic violence.

Magistrate John Lesser said that in January this year Siborowski had been in very difficult circumstances.

He said only those exceptional circumstances allowed Siborowski to avoid serving an immediate prison term.

Siborowski was convicted and sentenced to serve two months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He was also fined $400.