A GRANDFATHER who drove off with a little boy in his car had been "naive and stupid" a court was told.

Burnley Crown Court heard how pensioner George Dwyer, 65, had asked the child for directions in Church and was afterwards confronted by the child's parents.

The defendant later walked into Accrington police station and was given a "ticking off" by the desk sergeant. He was not interviewed by police until three months later after the victim's parents had demanded action.

Dwyer, a polio victim, was given a 12 months conditional discharge by a judge, who said he was not what everybody thought he might be when the youngster got into his car.

Judge Raymond Bennett said he was quite satisfied there was no sexual motive and full checks by both the probation service and the police had revealed not a hint of sexual impropriety in the defendant's past.

The judge said the boy's parents must have been "beside themselves" when they were told the seven-year-old had got into the defendant's car.

He added today people automatically thought the worst and often people who got children into their cars had "all sorts of dreadful crimes behind them" in relation to youngsters.

He went on: "These days, we can't have people having other people's children getting into their cars."

Dwyer, of Belfield Road, Accrington, admitted child abduction and had been committed for sentence by the Hyndburn Magistrates. He had no previous convictions.

Judith McCullough, prosecuting, said last October the seven-year-old was playing in Church with a nine-year-old friend, when they were approached by the defendant, who knew neither of them.

John Woodward, defending, said Dwyer was going to see a young lady in Norfolk Grove to help her with her computer.

He absolutely had no inclinations towards children other than to respect them in the way any decent human being would do.