A MAN who offered to help fix a car in a Blackburn street got into the vehicle and drove off without permission, a court heard.

In the process, Sadique Rafique pushed the owner's hand away when he tried to grab hold of the ignition key.

The following day he was arrested after he, and the Ford Fiesta, were found on the hard shoulder of the M55 in Lancashire.

The 24-year-old defendant, who is living at a probation hostel in Liverpool, was given 18 months community rehabilitation and banned from driving for 18 months at a Preston Crown Court appearance.

He had pleaded guilty to taking a vehicle without consent, threatening behaviour, disqualified driving and not having insurance. Mr John O'Shea, prosecuting, said the car owner and his brother-in-law were in William Hopwood Street, Blackburn, outside a doctor's surgery, with the bonnet up and the engine running. The men were checking the oil and the water.

The defendant, who was with others, arrived and spoke to the owner in Urdu. He offered to help fix the vehicle.

Without being asked, he got into the driver's seat and drove off, despite attempts to grab hold of the ignition key. The defendant pushed the other man away.

The following day, police on motorway duty at Newton saw the car on the hard shoulder of the M55. Rafique was the subject of an 18-month road ban.

Mr Simon James, defending, said Rafique had had emotional impulse problems in the past and it was something he recognised.

But since being placed at a probation hostel and taken away from his previous environment at Blackburn he had made progress, with positive feedback. The defendant had received custodial sentences in the past, but this had not got to the crux of why he offended.

Recorder Tim Tyder passed a community rehabilitation order, telling Rafique: "I am persuaded the last few months have seen very positive changes in you, or at least the start of positive changes".